Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister meets Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng on February 28 at ADNEC in UAE on the margins of the WTO’s MC13 and discussed Korea-Canada FTA implementation and Canada’s participation in the CFE Initative. date2024-02-29

Vice Minister attends CF Alliance general assembly and conference

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Kang Kyungsung attended the Carbon Free (CF) Alliance general assembly and conference on February 28 at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Seoul, and led discussions on the CFE Initative’s future plans and gathered CF Alliance members’ opinions. date2024-02-29

Korea declares 2024 as first year for initiating global diffusion of CFE Initiative

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Kang Kyungsung attended the Carbon Free (CF) Alliance general assembly and conference on February 28 at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Seoul, where the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the CF Alliance declared this year as the first year of the Carbon Free (CF) Energy Initiative diffusion and that efforts will concentrate hereon on expanding the scope of the Initiative on a domestic and global scale.   Launched in October 2023, the CF Alliance was proposed by President Yoon Suk Yeol during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023 and is a private-led cooperative organization pushing the CFE Initiative, a global campaign to accelerate the achievement of carbon neutrality by promoting businesses’ and industries’ extensive utilization of various carbon-free energy sources according to each circumstance.   The 20 member companies attending the event voiced in unison the need for a foundational base that makes it feasible for Korean industries to utilize various carbon-free sources in order to attain both carbon neutrality and industrial competitiveness. Member companies also stressed that it is important for the CFE Initiative to gain global support for international diffusion.   Vice Minister Kang stated that “We are aiming at launching a global working group by the end of the first half in 2024 with the participation of major countries to establish internationally applicable CFE implementation standards,” and added that “we will make sure to actively take domestic companies’ needs into consideration in establishing the global implementation standards in areas like electrical power use and production, while also pushing for stronger cooperation with not only major countries’ government authorities but also global organizations like the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA).”   On the sidelines of the CF Alliance general assembly, Korea Data Center Energy Efficiency Association, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) and FITI Testing & Research Institute declared their decision to join the CF Alliance. Having just begun welcoming new domestic members, the CF Alliance plans to open doors to overseas companies and organizations in the second half of 2024. date2024-02-28

Trade Minister attends WTO dispute settlement reform at MC13

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the WTO’s MC13 session on February 28 at ADNEC in UAE on the WTO dispute settlement reform and presented Korea’s stance on the issue.   The session was attended by WTO member countries’ trade ministers and WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. date2024-02-28

Korea and U.S. discuss resuming bilateral exchanges and cooperation in trade remedies

Trade Commissioner Cheon Young-gil of the Korea Trade Commission under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) visited Washington D.C. from February 26-27 to meet with Amy Karpel, Commissioner for the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), and Ryan Majerus, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations at the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), to discuss measures for resuming exchanges and cooperation between Korean and U.S. trade remedy organizations, and to cover bilateral trade remedy issues.   Trade Commissioner Cheon Young-gil suggested that the two sides resume the bilateral technical committee on trade remedies, which has been on pause since the COVID outbreak, in order to expand and develop the cooperation between the two countries’ trade remedy organizations.   He also asked that the DOC actively consider the opinion submitted by the Korean government in July 2023 regarding the DOC’s proposed amendment (announced May 2023) on regulations regarding the enforcement of trade remedies through the administration of anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws, conveying Korea’s stance on major issues related to countervailing duties. Moreover, in view of the issues concerning the ongoing anti-dumping investigations on Korean aluminum extrusions, the trade commissioner requested a reconsideration of the investigation scope.   Lastly, Trade Commissioner Cheon extended an invitation to the USITC and U.S. DOC to attend Trade Remedies Seoul Forum 2024, slated for July 2 in Seoul this year. First launched in 2001 and held on a yearly basis, Trade Remedies Seoul Forum is an international forum bringing together major countries’ related institutions for promoting exchanges and cooperation on trade remedies. date2024-02-28

Korea's retail industry climbs 8.2% in January

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on February 27 that Korea’s retail sales for January gained 8.2 percent year-on-year.   Offline sales inched down 0.3 percent as the Seollal holiday effect paled in comparison for January, with the holiday landing in February and driving down hypermarkets’ sales by 9.2 percent and reducing overall sales.   Online sales soared 16.8 percent, thanks to reservation promotions for newly released mobile phone models, heightened demand for travel package reservations and growing sales of convenience food products as a result of persisting inflation.   By item, sales of kids/sports (down 0.3 percent) fell, while home appliances/culture (up 11.4 percent), home/living (up 11.1 percent) and services/other (up 15.8 percent) rose.   MOTIE releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 25 major retailers. Thirteen of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and four SSM operators. The remaining 12 are online retailers.   By offline channel type, sales at hypermarket chains fell 9.2 percent, with sales declining across all items, including miscellaneous goods (down 21.3 percent), home/living (down 19.4 percent), sports (down 18.6 percent), clothing (down 13.8 percent) and food products (down 7.4 percent).   Department store chains saw sales increase 0.7 percent overall, with clothing and fashion items showing declines, but household goods (up 16.4 percent) and foreign designer labels (up 6.6 percent) expanded.   Convenience stores advanced 6.1 percent as close proximity, small purchase shopping and eat-in trends continued, driving sales of all items, including instant food products (up 12.8 percent) and beverages/processed food products (up 5.7 percent).   SSM operators grew 7.1 percent in spite of declines in daily necessities (down 10.6 percent), miscellaneous goods (down 1.2 percent) and other non-food items, as sales of agriculture, fishery and livestock products (up 11.2 percent), fresh/prepared food products (up 9.9 percent) and processed food products (up 3.5 percent) advanced.   Sales per store dropped sharply for hypermarkets (down 8.3 percent), while those for department stores (up 0.7 percent), convenience stores (up 1.5 percent) and SSM operators (up 4.2 percent) increased.   Online retail sales (up 16.8 percent) shrank in fashion/clothing (down 4.7 percent), but low pricing promotions and reservation purchases of Seollal holiday travel packages and gifts raised overall online sales.   To note, reservation promotions for newly released mobile phones delivered a strong boost for home appliances and electronics (up 13.2 percent). date2024-02-28

Trade Minister meets State Minister for Commerce of Bangladesh

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Ahasanul Islam Titu, State Minister for Commerce of Bangladesh, on February 27 at ADNEC in UAE on the margins of the WTO’s MC13 to discuss trade and investment cooperation and measures to strengthen Korea-Bangladesh cooperation through trade networks like EPA and TIPF. date2024-02-28

Trade Minister meets Oman's Minister of Commerce, Industry &. Investment Promotion

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef on February 27 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on the margins of the WTO’s MC13 to discuss measures for plant cooperation and strengthening the Korea-Oman trade cooperation network (TIPF, GCC FTA). date2024-02-28

Trade Minister meets Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Jamshid Khodjaev on February 27 at ADNEC in UAE on the margins of the WTO’s MC13 and discussed support for Uzbekistan’s accession to WTO and supply chain cooperation measures. date2024-02-28

Minister Ahn holds talks with U.S. Secretary of Commerce

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn held a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on February 27 at the Government Complex Seoul to discuss Korea-U.S. bilateral industrial and trade cooperation measures. date2024-02-28