Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister meets Industries Minister of Bangladesh

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, the Minister of Industries of Bangladesh, on March 22 in Seoul to discuss measures to widen economic cooperation by bolstering trade, investment, and industrial ties. date2024-03-22

Korea and Bangladesh discuss measures for wider economic cooperation

Korean government officials and the public-private joint delegation from Bangladesh are seeking measures for wider economic cooperation in trade, investment, and industries on the occasion of the latter's visit to Korea.   Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, the Industries Minister of Bangladesh, on March 22 in Seoul to discuss measures to widen economic cooperation by bolstering trade, investment, and industrial ties.   During the talks, Trade Minister Cheong proposed that their textile industries incorporate new added value, while digital, carbon neutrality, and other areas of cooperation be diversified to deepen the Korea-Bangladesh economic cooperation still further, for which he underscored the need for the two countries to enter the Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) Agreement as a new platform for economic cooperation.   Moreover, the trade chief shared some of the issues Korean companies experience in Bangladesh, including those concerning visa, duties, customs, and infrastructure and asked that Korean firms operating locally be given assistance in resolving these challenges. Minister Humayun responded that these concerns will be carefully addressed to help stabilize Korean companies’ business management in Bangladesh. date2024-03-22

Minister Ahn chairs conference on overseas resources development

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn chaired a conference with major overseas resources development companies on March 21 at Lotte Hotel Seoul, where he announced the “Public-Private Joint Strategy on Overseas Resources Development”.   The meeting was attended by representatives of major overseas resources development companies and public institutions, including SK E&S, LX International, and Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC). date2024-03-21

Vice Minister chairs meeting to review prospective NPP export projects

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Namho Choe chaired a meeting on March 21 at K-SURE in Seoul to review prospective nuclear power plant (NPP) equipment export projects. The Vice Minister led discussions on NPP export prospects, future plans, and promising NPP export projects. Attending the meeting were representatives of public and private sector NPP companies and institutions, including KEPCO, KHNP, Doosan Enerbility and KOTRA. date2024-03-21

Minister Ahn visits SK Hynix Yongin semiconductor cluster

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn visited the SK Hynix Yongin semiconductor cluster in Gyeonggi Province on March 21 to receive a briefing on construction progress and gather suggestions on site, and toured the production line for HBMs and cutting-edge memory chips. date2024-03-21

MOTIE announces “Public-Private Joint Strategy on Overseas Resources Development”

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn chaired a conference with major overseas resources development companies on March 21 at Lotte Hotel Seoul, where he announced the “Public-Private Joint Strategy on Overseas Resources Development”.   Amid intensifying energy supply chain uncertainties caused by growing geopolitical risks and the global race for dominance over critical resources, the Korean government is seeking to restore the ecosystem for overseas resources development in order to stabilize the supply chain of key resources as a national policy task.   Accordingly, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) collected opinions from industries, experts, and related ministries in establishing the “Public-Private Joint Strategy on Overseas Resources Development”.   Taking note of past policy outcomes and limitations, the above strategy was established in line with the following three policy aims: invigorating the ecosystem of private-led resources development; strengthening national resources security; and securing policy coherence.   The Government plans to stimulate private-led resources development by increasing financial and tax incentives, launching project tasks for mid-to-long term technology development and talent training, invigorating domestic resources development, strengthening public companies’ support for private firms, and bolstering resources diplomacy with resource-rich countries.   Minister Ahn emphasized that public-private cooperation is of utmost importance in stimulating the ecosystem for overseas resources development, as securing a stable energy resources supply chain is a priority task for economic stability and development of advanced industries. date2024-03-21

Public-private "One Team" gear up to attain KRW 10 tln NPP export target by 2027

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Namho Choe chaired a meeting on March 21 at K-SURE in Seoul to review prospective nuclear power plant (NPP) equipment export projects, as a follow-up to the ministry’s measures for achieving the KRW 10 trillion in NPP equipment export target by 2027, announced via the 14th public forum held on February 22.   According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), 415 NPPs are in operation at present as of March 2024, and demand for NPP equipment is rapidly rising on the backs of the increase in new NPP construction projects and continued operation.   The Korean government established the NPP equipment export stimulation measures in March last year, rendering support from multiple angles, such as expanding the budget for NPP export assistance and establishing trade centers across core export destinations.   The efforts have added up to striking a total of 4.9 trillion won worth of 105 export contracts over the last 20 months since President Yoon Suk Yeol took office, at least six-fold the amount exported through 2017-2021. While winning mega scale projects like the 3 trillion won El Daaba NPP Project in Egypt and 260 billion won tritium removal facility in Romania, Korea has also been exporting single unit equipment, operation and maintenance service, and small modular reactor (SMR) design, which amount to approximately 750 billion won.   To leverage this momentum for expansion, Korea’s public and private sectors have come together to join efforts in achieving the 5 trillion and 10 trillion won export targets for 2024 and 2027, respectively.   Vice Minister Choe stated that the Yoon administration’s initiative for normalizing nuclear policies and strong resolution towards NPP export, coupled with close public-private cooperation, have driven NPP exports over the 4 trillion won mark, and asked that “the public and private sectors join hands as ‘one team’ with strong resolve to reach the 10 trillion NPP export target for 2027.” date2024-03-21

MOTIE to support groundbreaking for cutting-edge memory chip fab slated for March 2025

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn, on March 21, visited SK Hynix’s Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, a pillar of the semiconductor mega cluster plan announced during the public forum in January.   Approximately 35 percent of Fab 1 has been completed so far and site renovation is in smooth progress. By 2046, over KRW 120 trillion in investment will be poured to complete Fabs 1 through 4, and construction of Fab 1’s production line will commence in March next year. Once completed, the infrastructure will rank as the world’s largest three-story fab.   Having launched an electrical power supply task force in February this year to support the completion of cluster infrastructure, MOTIE plans to form another task force by March to steer the establishment of the high-tech specialization cluster for chips and other advanced industries.   Amid increasing demand for AI chips and high bandwidth memory (HBM), the ministry will aim to swiftly establish a comprehensive strategy for dominance in the AI chip market and devise measures for strengthening chip equipment competitiveness within the first half of this year.   MOTIE also plans to push forward the prefeasibility study for minifab projects in the Yongin testbed and inject policy funding to competent fabless and MPE (materials, parts, equipment) companies. date2024-03-21

Deputy Trade Minister meets Lithuania’s Vice Foreign Affairs Minister

Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae met with Lithuania’s Vice Foreign Affairs Minister Egidijus Meilūnas on March 19 in Seoul to discuss measures to widen bilateral trade, investment, and economic cooperation, and attended the industry and technology cooperation MOU signing ceremony between KIAT and Innovation Agency Lithuania. date2024-03-20

Korea and Lithuania discuss bilateral economic cooperation

Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae met with Lithuania’s Vice Foreign Affairs Minister Egidijus Meilūnas on March 19 in Seoul to discuss measures to widen bilateral trade, investment, and economic cooperation.   Noting the growth of bilateral exchanges and trade following the establishment of Lithuania’s diplomatic mission in Korea in 2021, Deputy Minister Yang proposed that the two countries make further effort to expand their collaboration with focus on advanced industries, in view of Lithuania’s world-leading technology in laser and bio.   The two sides agreed on the importance of R&D cooperation and decided to support business partnering and convene joint seminars to strengthen the two countries' corporate networking and stimulate joint R&D projects.   On the margins of the bilateral talks, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) and Innovation Agency Lithuania entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for industry and technology cooperation to seek various measures to deepen and diversify their collaboration. date2024-03-20