Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea seeks to attract KRW 100 trillion in free economic zones

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) announced the draft of the 3rd Basic Plan for Free Economic Zones at the 135th committee meeting held on June 29, and approved the proposed revised development plans for the Gwangju, Gwangyang Bay Area, and Incheon Free Economic Zones. These plans are in line with the Government’s plans to develop free economic zones as global advanced business hubs for regional development, and attract KRW 100 trillion investment in Korea and abroad (fr date2023-07-05

Trade Minister discusses bio industry with Global Business Council

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn chaired the second meeting of the Global Business Council at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on June 27 and led discussions on the domestic bio industry in view of the changing trade landscape and bio supply chain internalization trends amid the U.S. President Biden’s executive order and China’s five-year bioeconomy plan. The trade chief gathered opinions from representatives of major bio firms attending the meeting, including Merck L date2023-07-05

Korea and Vietnam bolster cooperation in supply chain & climate change response

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on June 23 that MOTIE and the Vietnamese government have agreed to expand economic cooperation for stabilizing the critical minerals supply chain on the occasion of the recent Korea-Vietnam summit meeting in reaching the nationally determined contribution (NDC) and for achieving USD 150 billion in bilateral trade. First, to overcome difficult export conditions, MOTIE and the Vietnamese counterpart entered a “PLUS” memorand date2023-07-04

Korea and Vietnam expand economic cooperation with 111 MOUs

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Trade (MOTIE) announced on June 23 that a total of 111 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and two agreements were signed at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum, held on the occasion of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to Vietnam. The forum was attended by approximately 600 persons, mainly representatives of the two countries’ large, middle-market, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Two agreements and 52 MOUs were signed in defense, agric date2023-07-04

Korea's exports decline 6.0% in June

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 1 that Korea’s exports in June declined 6.0 percent year-on-year to USD 54.2 billion and imports fell 11.7 percent to $53.1 billion, recording a trade surplus ($1.1 billion) for the first time in 16 months. The decline in June exports is attributable to the continued slump of the IT industry and falling semiconductor prices. Daily export average, without factoring in the number of operating days, is $2.4 billion, which i date2023-07-03

Minister Lee attends ceremony for KRW 1.2 tln investment declaration by EU firms

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang attended the investment declaration ceremony in Paris on June 21 on the occasion of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to attend the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) General Assembly, where six European firms (Imerys, Umicore, Continental, Nylacast, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), Equinor) declared their decision to invest KRW 1.2 trillion (app. USD 940 million) in Korea. This investment is for establishing production fac date2023-06-30

Korea wins bid project for building tritium removal facility in Romania

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on June 27 that Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) has won a KRW 260 billion bid project for building a tritium removal facility in Romania. The project will involve the building of a safety facility for capturing and storing tritium, which is a radioactive substance created in the process of activating heavy water reactors for the continued operation of Romania’s Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant. Largest to date in value for date2023-06-30

Korea's retail industry grows 5.7% in May

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on June 28 that Korea’s retail sales in May achieved an overall growth of 5.7 percent, year-on-year. Offline and online sales both expanded, by 3.7 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively. The Ministry 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 &ldquo date2023-06-29