Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister holds 3rd IPEF public-private joint strategy meeting

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn presided the third Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) public-private joint strategy meeting on March 6 at the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) held by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) to discuss future directions and share IPEF negotiation progress with economic groups, various committees and R&D institutes. The first official round of IPEF negotiations were launched in December 2022 in Australia, and current date2023-03-08

Korea announces regulatory innovation for high-tech robot industry

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on March 2 the regulatory innovation measures for Korea’s high-tech robot industry at the 3rd Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting held at the Metaverse Hub in Pangyo to swiftly implement aggressive deregulation for creation of new businesses, in view of the robot industry’s capacity to enhance productivity, prevent manpower shortage and generate new future industries. The regulatory innovation measures will center aroun date2023-03-07

Korea ups refund rate of energy-efficient program for socially vulnerable

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on March 1 that it will be implementing a 10-20 percent refund program as of March 2 for energy-efficient home appliance purchases for approximately socially vulnerable households (app. 3.5 million) in Korea to mitigate financial burden amid surging energy prices. The refund program is the Korea government’s “energy conservation and efficiency improvement” policy in order to fundamentally transition to low energy con date2023-03-03

Trade Minister presides 4th Multilateral Trade Strategy Assessment Meeting

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn held the 4th Multilateral Trade Strategy Assessment Meeting on February 27 at the Government Complex Sejong with relevant ministries and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea in Geneva. Launched in July 2022, the Multilateral Trade Strategy Assessment Meeting is channel through which ministries and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea in Geneva discuss multilateral trade issues. This meeting focused on the currently ongoing negotiations in prep date2023-03-02

Korea's exports decline 7.5% in February

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on March 1 that Korea’s exports in February declined 7.5 percent year-on-year to USD 50.1 billion. Imports rose 3.6 percent to $55.4 billion. Trade balance stood at a deficit of $5.3 billion. The exports drop is attributed to the continued slowdown in the global economy and semiconductor industry, as well as the high base effect from the all-time high export performance in February of last year. Automobiles, car parts and general machi date2023-03-02

Korea announces measures for securing critical minerals supply

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang presided a conference on February 27 at the Lotte Hotel Seoul to discuss strategies for securing critical minerals and measures to stabilize the supply chain. The conference was held in the attendance of representatives from various like EVs and secondary batteries that require critical minerals for business, as well as domestic and overseas firms in resources development, including Samsung SDI, Hyundai Motor, LG Energy Solution, SK On and&nbsp date2023-02-28

MOTIE holds briefing on EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held a briefing session on EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation (hereinafter “FSR”) on February 23 at the Trade Tower in Seoul in the attendance of approximately 60 companies and law firms. FSR is a regulation introduced by the EU with the objective of preventing distortion of fair competition arising from subsidies granted by non-EU states. It imposes notification obligations on companies in the EU to report on whether they rece date2023-02-28

Korea's retail industry grows 4.0% in January

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on February 27 that Korea’s overall retail sales in January posted a 4.0 percent year-on-year growth. Offline sales lost 0.5 percent, while online sales gained 9.1 percent. The Ministry releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 26 major retailers. Half of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and four “super supermarket” date2023-02-27