Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister Ahn meets U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn met with U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer on April 11 (local time) in Washington D.C. to discuss Korea-U.S. economic and trade cooperation, IRA incentives, and visa issues. date2024-04-13

Minister Ahn meets U.S. Representative Rudy Yakym

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn met with U.S. Representative Rudy Yakym on April 11 (local time) in Washington D.C. to discuss Korea-U.S. economic and trade cooperation, IRA incentives, and visa issues. date2024-04-13

Minister Ahn meets with U.S. Representative Buddy Carter

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn met with U.S. Representative Buddy Carter on April 11 (local time) in Washington D.C. to discuss Korea-U.S. economic and trade cooperation, IRA incentives, and visa issues.   date2024-04-13

Minister Ahn meets with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn met with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn on April 11 (local time) in Washington D.C. and discussed Korea-U.S. economic and trade cooperation, CHIPS Act, IRA incentives, and visa issues. date2024-04-13

Minister Ahn visits Heritage Foundation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn visited the Heritage Foundation on April 11 in Washington D.C. (local time) and met with Anthony Kim, Research Fellow in Economic Freedom, Erin Walsh, Senior Research Fellow in International Affairs in the Asia Studies Center, and Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Energy, Climate, and Environment Center Director and the Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy, to discuss Korea-U.S. trade issues and bilateral industry and energy cooperation.   date2024-04-13

Minister Ahn meets with Wilson Center CEO

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn met with Mark Andrew Green, President and CEO of the Wilson Center, on April 10 in Washington D.C. and discussed Korea-U.S. trade issues and bilateral industry and energy cooperation. date2024-04-13

IPEF Supply Chain Agreement to take effect April 17 in Korea

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on April 12 that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Supply Chain Agreement will come into effect on April 17 in Korea.   Korea submitted its ratification documents on March 18, 2024, and the Agreement will enter into force after a 30-day period, on Wednesday, April 17. For the U.S., Japan, Singapore, Fiji, and India, the Supply Chain Agreement has taken effect as of February 24 this year; Korea will be the sixth country to ratify the said agreement.   As the first multilateral international agreement on supply chains, the IPEF Supply Chain Agreement is anticipated to contribute to establishing a more stable intraregional supply chain. During times of non-crisis, the 14 partner countries will cooperate to increase investment, enhance logistics, and push joint R&D projects for building supply chain resiliency. During crises, partner countries will be running a “Crisis Response Network” by which they can carry out joint response measures. date2024-04-12

Korea's automobile exports hit all-time high of $17.5 bln for Q1 in 2024

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on April 11 that Korea’s automobile exports hit all-time highs of USD 17.5 billion (up 2.7 percent year-on-year) for the first quarter of 2024 (January-March in acc.). The monthly export value reached $6.2 billion in March, making a quick rebound since the setback to $5.2 billion in February.   The key takeaway for March exports and domestic sales is the steep rise of hybrid vehicles (PHEVs excluded), advancing 37 percent to a record-breaking $0.9 billion. With the domestic market also selling 40,000 units (up 24 percent) in March, strong domestic and overseas demand for hybrid cars is expected to serve as a stable source of workload for the parts industry.   Automobile production in March amounted to 365,497 units (down 10.8 percent), surpassing last year’s monthly average (app. 354,000 units) and recording the highest among the first three months of this year. The year-on-year downtick in production is attributable to the lower number of working days (-1.5) and a major automaker’s production line renovation for future mobility transition.   Domestic sales in March added up to 146,019 units (down 12.0 percent). Meanwhile, hybrid cars (up 24 percent) and EVs (up 16 percent) posted double-digit growth, boosting the sales of eco-friendly vehicles 18.6 percent to 61,435 units, surpassing the previous all-time monthly high of approximately 58,000 units set in November 2023. date2024-04-11

Minister Ahn visits Washington D.C. to discuss stronger Korea-U.S. cooperation in clean energy and advanced industries

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn is making his first visit to Washington D.C., U.S. (April 10-12) after taking office to meet with U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and Department of Energy (DOE) counterparts, Biden administration officials, U.S. Congress members, and major thinktank figures for extensive discussions on trade issues and measures for Korea-U.S. cooperation in industries and energy.   During the bilateral ministerial Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue (SCCD) meeting and energy ministerial meeting held in April 2023 on the margins of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the U.S., the two countries agreed to cooperate in clean energy and advanced industries, including semiconductors. Minister Ahn aims to further discussions on stronger cooperation in clean energy areas and advanced industries through this visit, while also touching on issues concerning the U.S. CHIPS Act subsidies and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives.   Moreover, he will meet with representatives of Korean firms operating in the local U.S. market to cover investment issues and seek business support measures with Congress members. With key thinktank figures, he plans to exchange views on forward-looking measures for developing and deepening Korea-U.S. relations.   Minister Ahn remarked that “The Korea-U.S. alliance has grown closer than ever, advancing to one of economic security, advanced industries, and supply chains,” and that efforts will be made to bolster bilateral ties through continued cooperation with the U.S. DOC, DOE, and other divisions. date2024-04-11

Ministries and companies discuss pending chip issues at presidential office

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn attended a meeting chaired by President Yoon Suk Yeol on April 9 at the Office of the President in Yongsan, Seoul, held for discussions on global chip supply chain risk factors in view of the recent earthquake in Taiwan, and for President Yoon to first-handedly assess the measures for the swift establishment of semiconductor mega clusters.   Attending the meeting were representatives of relevant ministries and companies, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF), Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), Ministry of Environment (ME), Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, SAPEON Korea, and Naver.   Attendees discussed measures for securing the semiconductor technology super gap in the global race on AI chips, and the future direction for Korea in pushing the AI chip initiative.   Regarding the Taiwan earthquake and global supply chain risk factors, the meeting concluded that impact on Korean companies is limited at present, but efforts will continue to be made to monitor the supply chain situation with related industries and associations to handle uncertainties.   Discussions also covered the following measures for a swift establishment of the semiconductor mega clusters.   First, the Government plans to back the establishment of infrastructure and accelerate corporate investment, raising the state funding rate from the previous 5-30 percent to 15-30 percent. For the Yongin System Semiconductor Cluster, in which Samsung Electronics plans to invest 360 trillion won by 2047, the site renovation period is to be substantially shortened by utilizing the preliminary consultation system for environmental impact evaluation and through prompt land compensation.    The Government will also push for stronger investment incentives by extending the national strategic technology investment tax credit incentive due to sunset at the end of this year, which currently grants a 25 percent maximum tax credit.   The second aim is to nurture professional talent and create a better working environment. This will entail a further designation of chip-focused specialization universities (10) and graduate schools (3), as well as the establishment of new cities and public housing around the semiconductor industrial clusters and laying of a “chip highway” connecting the clusters in Hwaseong, Yongin and Anseong. Plans also include rolling out a global talent package for attracting overseas talents into Korea by supporting their immigration and housing.   Third, support will go towards the early establishment of a mass-production demonstration testbed (Yongin Semiconductor Cluster mini fab) for facilitating cooperation between chip MPE (materials, parts, equipment) firms and chip manufacturers, and towards the production of ultra fine process prototypes. The chip performance testing and inspection service is to be initiated starting this year with the establishment of the inspection support center.   In this AI era, there still exists sustainability issues owing to performance and energy costs, and the outlook is that the future of AI competitiveness will center on AI chips and hardware innovation, as well as the organic collaboration among AI models.   In this regard, Korea will be launching the AI Chip Initiative based on the following nine technological innovations: next-generation general-purpose AI (AGI); lightweight and low-power AI; AI safety technology development; processing in memory (PIM); low-power K-AP; new device & advanced packaging; AI supercomputing; on-device AI; and next-generation open AI architecture software.   MOTIE and MSIT will be holding review sessions on a regular basis and share collaboration cases and outcomes with related institutions to minimize d date2024-04-09