Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Meets Vietnamese Counterpart

Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan met with Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien at Lotte Hotel Seoul on Monday, August 11, 2025, during Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Korea. The ministers discussed bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, followed by the exchange of Records of Discussion on establishing a technology cooperation center for critical mineral supply chains. date2025-08-12

Korea and Vietnam to Strengthen Industrial Cooperation for Supply Chains and Energy Transition

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) on Monday, August 11 to promote cooperation in renewable energy. The signing took place in the presence of President Lee Jae Myung and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam immediately following the bilateral summit that morning, held during the Vietnamese leader’s official visit to Korea. In addition to this agreement, an MOU between companies from both countries was signed in the field of human resources development for nuclear power, laying the groundwork for substantive economic cooperation and a stronger, future-oriented partnership. MOTIE and MOIT signed the MOU on renewable energy cooperation as part of efforts toward a sustainable energy transition. Through this agreement, the two countries plan to actively discover public-private collaborative projects in promising renewable energy fields, including solar power, wind power, and energy storage systems, and support corporate investors in resolving business challenges. Korea Electric Power Corporation and Petrovietnam signed the MOU on cooperation in human resources development in the nuclear energy sector in the presence of both leaders. The agreement is expected to build professional talent in the nuclear power sector and improve understanding of Korean nuclear technology to strengthen the foundation for bilateral cooperation on building nuclear power plants. Meanwhile, the two ministers exchanged Records of Discussion between the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and Vietnam’s National Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Science and Technology on establishing a technology cooperation center for critical mineral supply chains in Vietnam, at the bilateral ministerial meeting held prior to the summit at Lotte Hotel Seoul. Under this agreement, the two sides will launch a five-year development assistance program in the second half of this year, with an investment of KRW 16.6 billion (USD 12 million), to procure equipment, provide technical guidance, and train workers for the beneficiation and smelting of critical minerals in Vietnam. The Korean government will actively support corporate activities to ensure that concrete business projects are realized through this MOU and through continued public-private cooperation. date2025-08-12

Workshop on Recent Approaches to Domestic Regulation of Services in APEC

Korea’s Director General for Multilateral Trade and Legal Affairs Oh Choong-jong attended the Workshop on Recent Approaches to the Domestic Regulation of Services in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Region held at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. In his congratulatory remarks, the director general stated, “The services industry is the driving force of APEC’s economic growth, and its importance continues to grow as its scope expands with digital transformation.” He added, “APEC, as an incubator of new ideas, has long supported the multilateral trading system. We hope this workshop will serve as a catalyst for achieving meaningful outcomes at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled for next year.” The MOTIE workshop brought together government delegations from Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the US; Jaime Coghi Arias, Chair of the WTO negotiations on services domestic regulation; Jillian DeLuna, Convenor of the APEC Group on Services; as well as representatives from the APEC Business Advisory Council, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, and Walmart, and other domestic and international industry figures and experts. date2025-08-07

APEC 2025 Opens Up Discussion on Regulatory Improvements to Boost Services Trade

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held the Workshop on Recent Approaches to the Domestic Regulation of Services in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region on Wednesday, August 6, at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, where the 3rd APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting is now taking place. Domestic regulation of services aims to enhance transparency and predictability in domestic processes such as licensing and qualification, with the goal of reducing transaction costs and promoting trade in services. APEC established relevant non-binding principles in 2018, while the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted legally binding disciplines in 2021 following plurilateral negotiations. These disciplines entered into force in 2024 and currently apply to 72 WTO members, including 16 APEC economies. According to WTO research, these members account for over 92.5% of global services trade, and implementation of the disciplines is projected to cut global trade costs in the services sector by more than USD 127 billion. The MOTIE workshop brought together government delegations from Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the US; Jaime Coghi Arias, Chair of the WTO negotiations on services domestic regulation; Jillian DeLuna, Convenor of the APEC Group on Services; as well as professional experts and representatives from the APEC Business Advisory Council, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, Walmart, and various industries. The event consisted of four sessions covering recent developments in APEC and WTO discussions, sharing best practices among member economies, and discussing the impact of domestic regulation on services trade and sector-specific issues such as tourism and AI, and future directions for regulatory development. At the event, Korea’s Director General for Multilateral Trade and Legal Affairs Oh Choong-jong stated, “The services industry is the driving force of APEC’s economic growth, and its importance continues to grow as its scope expands with digital transformation.” He added, “APEC, as an incubator of new ideas, has long supported the multilateral trading system. We hope this workshop will serve as a catalyst for achieving meaningful outcomes at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled for next year.” date2025-08-06

8th Korea-China (Shandong) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange

Korea’s Deputy Minister for Trade Park Jong-won attended the 8th Korea-China (Shandong) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange at the Grand Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Friday, August 1, 2025. In his congratulatory remarks, he expressed hopes that Korea and Shandong would strengthen cooperation for smoother supply chains, expand collaboration into new areas such as the healthcare, bio, and hydrogen sectors, and continue efforts to broaden exchanges between companies from both regions. He then listened to presentations on key topics related to the healthcare, medical, hydrogen, and low-carbon industries. The event brought together more than 250 participants, including bilateral government officials, as well as business representatives. date2025-08-05

Public-Private Policy Dialogue on AI and Trade

Korea’s Director General for Multilateral Trade and Legal Affairs Oh Choong-jong attended a public-private policy dialogue on AI and trade on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, held at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, to discuss measures to expand business opportunities and manage risks through harmonized AI policies within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. In his opening remarks, the director general stated that this policy dialogue marked the first APEC-level discussion on the future of AI and trade. He added that the public-private discourse would serve as a starting point for leading APEC economies in AI, such as the US and China, to confer closely and flesh out plans for implementing AI initiatives in trade, with the goal of achieving meaningful outcomes at the APEC Ministerial Meeting scheduled for late October. The dialogue brought together more than 100 participants, including government officials from 21 APEC members, as well as domestic and overseas business representatives. date2025-08-05

APEC Automotive Dialogue Continues Discussion on Intelligent, Eco-friendly Future Car Technology & Policies

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that the 42nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Automotive Dialogue (AD) will be held from Friday, August 1 to Saturday, August 2 at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, in connection with APEC 2025. Established in 1999, the APEC AD is an official public-private consultative body where governments and industries across the APEC region share key policy issues and trends in the automobile industry and explore cooperative measures together. Governments and industries from 14 APEC member economies, including the Republic of Korea, the US, Japan, and China, will be attending the forum, co-chaired again by MOTIE and the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA) following the 41st AD held from May 8 to 9 at Jeju ICC. Main agendas of the forum include prospects for the global automobile market; strategies for the ecosystem of electric vehicles and batteries; social effects of future technologies such as AI and autonomous driving; and the inclusiveness and sustainability of future mobility. The Korean delegation will present on battery safety technology trends, hydrogen mobility, future automobile technologies including connected autonomous driving, and relevant policy issues. Prior to this forum, an AD workshop for working-level experts was held on July 31, focusing on sustainable development of the automobile industry and possible ways to realize human-centered mobility to promote technology collaboration and policy exchange between APEC members. This APEC AD will provide an opportunity for participating APEC members to seek joint responses to key future automotive issues and to solidify cooperation for building a sustainable and inclusive future automobile ecosystem. date2025-08-01

Korea's Exports Rise 5.9% in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on August 1 that Korea’s exports in July 2025 rose 5.9 percent year-on-year to USD 60.8 billion, while imports edged up 0.7 percent to $54.2 billion. The trade balance recorded a surplus of $6.6 billion. Daily average exports for the month, factoring in the number of working days, also rose 5.9 percent to $2.4 billion. Of Korea’s 15 major export categories, three posted growth in July. Semiconductors hit a historic high for the month, up 31.6 percent to $14.7 billion, driven by rising contract prices and sustained global demand for high-value memory products, such as HBM and DDR5. Automobile exports grew 8.8 percent to $5.8 billion for the second consecutive month, supported by strong demand for hybrid electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles. Ship exports increased for the fifth straight month, soaring 107.6 percent to $2.2 billion fueled by greater shipments of high-value vessels, including tankers and LNG carriers. Non-major export items reached a new record of $14.2 billion with the help of agricultural food products (up 3.8 percent to $1.1 billion), cosmetics (up 18.1 percent to $1.0 billion), and electric machinery (up 19.2 percent to $1.6 billion). Furthermore, exports increased in six out of nine major regional markets. Exports to ASEAN climbed 10.1 percent to $10.9 billion, driven largely by strong growth in semiconductors, though China-bound exports dropped 3.0 percent to $11.0 billion. Exports to the US increased 1.4 percent to $10.3 billion due to a rise in semiconductors, wireless communication devices, cosmetics, electric machinery, and other non-major export items, offsetting declines in steel and automobile parts. Exports to the EU grew for the fifth consecutive month, gaining 8.7 percent to $6.0 billion, with multiple major export items such as automobiles, ships, and petroleum products trending upward. Exports to CIS countries (up 21.5 percent to $1.2 billion) grew for the fifth consecutive month, and Latin America (up 4.4 percent to $2.7 billion) and India (up 10.7 percent to $1.8 billion) marked their second consecutive months of growth. Exports to Taiwan also soared 68 percent to $4.7 billion thanks to a near-doubling of semiconductor exports. date2025-08-01

Korea’s retail industry grows 7.8% in H1 2025

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that Korea’s retail industry gained 7.8 percent year-on-year in the first half (H1) of 2025, with offline sales declining 0.1 percent and online sales advancing 15.8 percent. MOTIE's monthly retail sales figures are based on surveys of 23 major retailers. Thirteen of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and four super supermarket (SSMs) operators. The remaining 10 are online retailers. Korea’s retail industry growth over the past five years was mainly driven by sales of department stores, convenience stores, and SSMs, powered by consumer preference for luxury goods and shopping local trends. Moreover, the increasing number of single-person households led to the expansion of small quantity purchases and online grocery shopping. On the other hand, online retail sales rose steeply each year alongside the growth of the service sector, as e-coupons, travel/culture packages, and delivery services continued to flourish. During H1 2025, offline retail sales were affected by deteriorating consumer sentiment, rise of e-commerce, and the decreasing number of brick-and-mortar store visitors. Consequently, sales at hypermarkets (down 1.1 percent) and convenience stores (down 0.5 percent) dropped, whereas those of department stores inched upward by 0.5 percent on the backs of increasing demand for luxury goods. SSMs (up 1.8 percent) experienced a steady growth in the number of stores based on the rise in food prices and demand for home dining. By category, strong demand for home dining and services drove up sales of food products (up 8.3 percent), service/other (up 28.8 percent), and home/living (up 3.7 percent). Online retail sales were especially high in service/other (up 57.6 percent) and the sales growth of food products was also higher across online retail (up 19.6 percent) compared to offline (up 0.6 percent). Meanwhile, sales of fashion/miscellaneous (down 2.6 percent) and kids/sports (down 2.9 percent) decreased. For the month of June 2025, offline retail sales fell 1.1 percent year-on-year while online sales climbed 15.9 percent, achieving an overall growth of 7.3 percent.   date2025-07-30

Trade Minister Meets U.S. Trade Representative

Korea’s Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on July 25 (local time) in Washington, D.C. to discuss ways to advance bilateral tariff negotiations. date2025-07-28