Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea's retail industry grows 8.4% in November

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 29 that Korea’s retail sales in November gained a year-on-year growth of 8.4 percent. Both physical and online retailers advanced in sales, up 8.5 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. The Ministry releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 25 major retailers. Thirteen of them are physical retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and four &ld date2022-12-29

Soprano Jo Sumi appointed as honorary ambassador for World Expo 2030 Busan

The World EXPO 2030 Busan Bid Committee (hereinafter “Committee”) held a ceremony to appoint South Korean soprano Jo Sumi as the 4th official honorary ambassador for World Expo 2030 Busan on December 27 at the LG Art Center in Seoul. At the ceremony, Committee Secretary General Yoon Sang-jik and Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon presented soprano Jo Sumi with the appointment plaque. The 4th official honorary ambassador following actor and filmmaker Lee Jung-jae, AI Rozy and boy band BTS, date2022-12-28

Korea holds 231st Ministerial Meeting on International Economic Affairs

South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Economy and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho presided the 231st Ministerial Meeting on International Economic Affairs on December 26 at the Government Complex Seoul, which was attended by ministers and vice ministers of relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE). In his opening message, Minister Choo remarked that 2022 has been a year with a high level of external uncertainty from Russia-Ukraine war, supply chain date2022-12-28

Trade Minister attends 33rd Trade Agreement TF Meeting

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn attended the 33rd Trade Agreement Task Force (TF) Meeting on December 23 at the President Hotel Seoul to seek measures to support companies amid the rapidly changing trade environment and newly emerging trade rules regarding digital transition, climate change and rising protectionism and to support domestic industries with respect to FTAs currently in force. He added that “the recent first round of official negotiations for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framewor date2022-12-27

Trade Minister holds Industrial and Energy ODA Networking Day 2022

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn held the Industrial and Energy ODA (Official Development Assistance) Networking Day 2022 on December 22 at the Grand Hyatt Seoul to share industrial and energy ODA policy directions. This meeting was attended by ambassadors to the Republic of Korea from 28 countries, and is the second time an ambassador conference of this size was held this year. Trade Minister Ahn proposed the following three major plans as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)&rsqu date2022-12-27

Korea and Vietnam sign 3 MOUs for energy cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang visited Hanoi, Vietnam on December 22 on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Vietnam, and met with Vietnam’s Industry and Trade Minister Nguyễn Hồng Diên to hold the 12th Korea-Vietnam Industrial Joint Committee and 6th Korea-Vietnam FTA Joint Committee meetings. The two countries’ delegations, led respectively by the two trade chiefs, discussed measures for s date2022-12-23

MOTIE announces results of Middle-Market Companies Basic Survey 2021

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 22 the basic survey results of middle-market companies in 2021. The survey shows that there is a steady trend of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) growing into middle-market companies, and middle-market companies growing into large companies. The number of middle-market companies was 5,480 at the end of 2021, slightly lower than the 5,526 of 2020. Sales and operating profit, on the other hand, grew 82.7 percent and 16.1 date2022-12-23

Korea and Hungary sign MOU on trade & investment cooperation

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn met with Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó on December 20 at the Lotte Hotel Seoul to sign the MOU on cooperation in trade and investment promotion, and discussed trade, investment subsidies and the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. The above MOU is a follow-up measure for the Korea-Hungary Trade Ministerial talks held on October 24 in Budapest. The two trade chiefs agreed that the MOU should precede the Trade date2022-12-22