Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea’s exports grow for the 14th consecutive month

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced on December 1 that Korea’s exports for the month of November increased 1.4 percent year-on-year to USD 56.4 billion. Imports declined 2.4 percent to $50.7 billion and the trade balance stood at a surplus of $5.6 billion. Exports increased for the 14th consecutive month, with the daily average export value increasing 3.6 percent year-on-year to $2.4 billion, turning to growth after the downtick in October. In November, five out of 15 major items improved in exports. Semiconductors (up 30.8 percent to $12.5 billion) hit all-time highs for the month, renewing monthly highs for the fourth consecutive month and posting growth for the 13th consecutive month. This year, accumulated chip exports through January–November climbed 45.4 percent to record highs at $127.4 billion.  Automobile exports dropped 13.6 percent to $5.6 billion as car parts industry strikes and delays in wage and collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations led to setbacks in parts supply for automakers. Adverse weather conditions in the last week of November further slowed down the loading of automobiles for shipment to overseas markets. Bio-health exports reached historic highs for November (up 19.6 percent to $1.4 billion), expanding for the fifth consecutive month. Computer exports soared 122.3 percent to $1.4 billion, advancing for the 11th consecutive month. Steel exports increased 1.3 percent to $2.7 billion, growing for the second consecutive month. Ship exports turned to an expansion with $2.5 billion (up 70.8 percent). By region, exports to five out of nine major destinations increased. Exports to China (down 0.6 percent to $11.3 billion) surpassed $11 billion for the fifth month straight. U.S.-bound exports (down 5.1 percent to $10.4 billion) entered the $10 billion thresholds for the third consecutive month. To ASEAN, exports grew 0.4 percent to $9.8 billion on the backs of strong demand for semiconductors. To the EU, exports for November recorded all-time highs at $5.4 billion (up 0.9 percent) as ships, wireless communication devices, and bio-health exports enjoyed robust demand. Exports to the Middle East (up 17.4 percent to $1.6 billion) showed an upward trajectory and those to Latin America (up 20.3 percent to $2.3 billion) and CIS countries (up 9.6 percent to $1.0 billion) increased for the second and fifth consecutive month, respectively. Energy imports decreased 10.8 percent to $10.7 billion despite increased imports of gas (up 6.3 percent) as the import value of crude oil (down 16.8 percent) dipped in step with oil prices. Nonenergy imports remained relatively flat at $40 billion (up 0.1 percent). The trade balance gained for the 18th consecutive month and the accumulated trade surplus through January–November amounted to $45.2 billion (up $60 billion year-on-year), the highest since 2018.   date2024-12-02

Korea and Morocco to make swift push for bilateral EPA

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea met Karim Zidane, Morocco’s Minister Delegate in charge of Investment, Convergence, and the Evaluation of Public Policies, today in Seoul on the occasion of the latter’s visit for the investment roadshow “Morocco Now” and exchanged views on measures for expanding bilateral economic cooperation. A follow-up to the Korea-Africa Summit 2024 held this June, the talks touched on ways to carry forward the summit momentum towards a bilateral Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Trade Minister Cheong emphasized the importance of swiftly launching the EPA negotiations with respect to expanding investment and asked the Moroccan government’s interest and support for Korean companies’ local business issues and participation in Morocco’s rail train and new renewable energy projects. Minister Delegate Zidane responded by agreeing that they accelerate discussions for the bilateral EPA and expressed hope for Korean companies’ entry into Morocco’s automobile, aviation, shipbuilding, clean energy, and other high-tech markets in view of Morocco’s rich Free Trade Agreement (FTA) network spanning 55 countries and geological advantages as an investment hub and gateway into Europe and the Middle East. Following the talks, Trade Minister Cheong gave a congratulatory speech at the investment roadshow hosted by Morocco, promising support in creating diverse opportunities for both countries’ business leaders and closely cooperating with the Moroccan government to reach the Korea-Morocco EPA. The investment roadshow was also attended by roughly 100 representatives of Korean companies and related institutions seeking to promote business collaboration, including LG Energy Solution, Samsung E&A, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, LX International, the Korea-Africa Foundation, and the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA).   date2024-11-28

Korea and Bangladesh to launch negotiations for bilateral EPA

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea and the commerce adviser of Bangladesh's interim government, Sheikh Bashir Uddin, jointly announced the launch of negotiations for the Korea-Bangladesh Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) today in Seoul. The two sides also entered into a Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) to foster a comprehensive cooperation base. The eighth most populous country in the world, Bangladesh is a fast-growing economy in Southwest Asia with an average growth rate of 6.6 percent per year over the last three years and home to many Korean textile and sewing businesses. As functional textiles and other local clothing industries in Bangladesh are seeking to create higher value-added products, Korean firms can look forward to wider opportunities for supply chain collaboration. Moreover, the Bangladeshi government is currently pushing policies for establishing public-led infrastructure for power supply, roads, and aviation to spur economic growth, which is expected to further boost Korean construction and engineering companies’ local project participation. Trade Minister Cheong remarked that the TIPF agreement signed today lays down the basic framework for comprehensive bilateral economic cooperation, through which the two countries can engage in EPA negotiations for opening of markets and establish a solid institutional base for broader cooperation. He added that through these efforts, Korea and Bangladesh can diversify their bilateral trade items and move forward towards electronics, digital, and other areas that Bangladesh is aiming to nurture.  The two countries plan to hold the first official negotiating round for a bilateral EPA during the first half of 2025.   date2024-11-28

Korea to Support Semiconductor Industry via Public-Private Partnership

The Korean government announced plans to enhance support for the semiconductor ecosystem today during an interministerial meeting held for strengthening industrial competitiveness.  First, the Government will work with the National Assembly to significantly reduce the burden on companies for semiconductor cluster infrastructure. The Government has promised to take on a significant share of the responsibility for KRW 1.8 trillion required to build underground power transmission cables for the Yongin and Pyeongtaek Semiconductor Clusters, while increasing the limit on infrastructure support for complexes specialized in national high-tech industries. It will also boost the operation of programs to attract overseas talents in high-tech sectors and scale up incentives for high-performing instructors at Korea’s four science and technology institutes and increase specialized graduate schools to train experts in various high-tech industries. The Government will also increase tax benefits for investment in R&D facilities. It will work with the National Assembly to include R&D equipment and facilities in the scope of investment tax credit for national strategic technologies and increase the investment tax credit rate for semiconductor companies.  In 2015, the Government will provide policy financing worth more than ₩14 trillion across all semiconductor sectors including MPE (materials, parts, equipment) and fabless manufacturing, marking the beginning of full-fledged investment in semiconductor funds. It will also launch a program through which the Korea Development Bank will provide low-interest loans totaling ₩4.25 trillion in 2025 at lowest-level interest rates. In the same year, a new semiconductor ecosystem fund worth ₩120 billion will be created, with plans to scale it up to ₩420 billion later on.  Lastly, the Government will finalize the power and water supply plan for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster, under which relevant organizations will enter into an agreement. For the Yongin National Industrial Complex, the Government formulated a plan to supply power worth 3GW (starting in 2030, Phase 1) and divide the supply costs, and reached a provisional agreement on additional power supply (starting in 2039, Phase 2). For the Yongin General Industrial Complex, the Government followed up on the power supply agreement on 3GW in 2021 (starting in 2027) by reaching a final agreement on the supply of additional power (starting in 2039, Phase 2) and cost sharing. Moving forward, the Government will continue to build the competitiveness of the country’s semiconductor industry by closely working with the National Assembly to enact the budget and law revisions for semiconductor industry support.   date2024-11-27

KIPO and K-SURE to Nurture IP-Owning Export Enterprises

Deputy Minister for Trade and Investment Kim Dae-ja of the Republic of Korea attended the ceremony for the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Supporting IP-Owning Export Enterprises between the Korea Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) today in Seoul. The MOU aims to help promising startups and SMEs leverage their intellectual properties (IPs) to enlarge global market presence and provide them with broader export financing support. Under the MOU, KIPO and K-SURE agreed to jointly look for promising innovative startups and SMEs with their own intellectual property rights (IPRs), with KIPO providing support for IP valuation costs (up to 90 percent), consulting services for the use of IP financing worth KRW 3 trillion per year, and additional points in evaluation for IP-based overseas expansion support projects. K-SURE will increase the export credit guarantee limit (1.5 times higher), lower guarantee fees (30 percent), provide expert consulting services, and provide export financing worth KRW 2 trillion to around 1,000 companies over the next five years.    Deputy Minister Kim said, “We will work with export support organizations to help promising export startups achieve growth in the global market through the use of IPRs and export financing.”  date2024-11-27

Public and Private Sectors Join Hands in Establishing World’s Largest Semiconductor Cluster

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced that relevant companies and institutions, including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), K-water, and Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), attended the agreement ceremony on establishing the infrastructure for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster today at the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) with an aim to facilitate the smooth construction of power and water infrastructure.  The agreement is in line with the detailed plans under the comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem support measures announced in June. The Government, public institutions, companies, and other related institutions will be stepping up efforts going forward to enable smooth production operations of the Yongin semiconductor cluster, which is scheduled for commercial operation in 2027. Private investment is also anticipated to gain traction as the Yongin cluster is expecting over KRW 600 trillion in investments. The Yongin High-Tech System Semiconductor National Industrial Complex (“National Industrial Complex”) and the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster General Industrial Complex (“General Industrial Complex”) require over 10 GW of electrical power supply by 2053, which is when all corporate investments will have arrived. Accordingly, the Government has been engaging in consultations with KEPCO and other companies through the task force (TF) formed in February to steer power supply measures and cost sharing. As for water supply, the two complexes will require around 1.33 million metric tons of water per day. To address the issue, the Government and related parties have been working together to secure stable and alternative sources. The integrated water supply project included in today’s agreement ensures 1.07 million tons of water per day, which is equivalent to the amount of water used by Incheon Metropolitan City’s 3 million citizens. The integrated water supply system saves roughly ₩330 billion compared to installing a double track tube for separate water supply facilities for each complex. The system also reinforces overall stability by providing better prevention of water shortage during emergencies. In October, the integrated water supply project was granted an exemption from prefeasibility studies. The ministry plans to swiftly proceed with follow-up measures to commence timely water supply beginning in 2031.   date2024-11-27

East Sea “Blue Whale” Gas Drilling Plan Granted Final Approval

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea held the third strategy meeting on East Sea deep-sea gas field development on November 27 at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Seoul with the participation of relevant ministries, national policy research institutes, academia, resource institutions, and private companies, where attendees agreed to give final approval on the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC)'s drilling plan for Block 8 and the northern part of Block 6-1 of the gas field, referred to as the “Blue Whale.” They also discussed the investment attraction progress and measures to improve the mining royalty system. Concerning the mining royalty system reform, the Government has established an amended version of the enforcement ordinances and regulations under the Mineral Resources Development Act and completed the legislative proposal notice and consultations with related ministries in line with plans to finish the amendment process by the year end. Meanwhile, KNOC has been launching investment briefing sessions for both global and domestic companies since this July and plans to carry out investment attraction strategies following the first borehole drilling. Upon approval of KNOC’s first borehole drilling plan, a drilling rig will enter Busan Port this December to begin preparations for commencing the two-month drilling process. After analyzing the drilling data, the Korean government plans to announce the first borehole drilling results in the first half of next year.   date2024-11-27

Korea and Georgia Strike EPA Deal

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong of the Republic of Korea and Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Genadi Arveladze announced today in Seoul the conclusion of negotiations for the Korea-Georgia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). This Agreement is Korea’s first concluded EPA and 26th Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by order of conclusion. Since agreeing to launching the Korea-Georgia EPA negotiations in November 2023, the two sides have been making effort to narrow differences through official and intersessional negotiations, which culminated in today’s conclusion of the Agreement during Deputy Minister Arveladze’s visit to Korea. Trade Minister Cheong assessed that as the two countries are committed to a high level of open trade and extensive cooperation in areas like supply chains, transportation, logistics, and energy through this EPA, it is anticipated that the Agreement will contribute not only to expanding bilateral trade but also to establishing a stable global supply chain. According to the bilateral Agreement, it is conclusive that within 10 years of entry into force, 93.3 percent of Korean items open to Georgia free of tariffs and 91.6 percent of Georgian items open to Korea duty-free. As the Agreement ensures Korea’s access to Georgia’s marine and road cargo transport, warehousing, and cargo brokerage markets, Korean businesses can look forward to diversifying their transport and logistics network, facilitating exports, and stabilizing the supply chain in preparation against geopolitical risks. Furthermore, Georgia’s markets for publication, exhibition, education services, and the music industry will open up to Korea, enhancing opportunities to promote Korea’s cultural content in the Caucasus country. The Korean government plans to swiftly proceed with legal scrubbing among other procedures for the formal signing so that the two countries can move forward their respective domestic process towards the Agreement’s prompt entry into force.   date2024-11-27