Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade Minister discusses investment with Thermo Fisher Scientific for global vaccine hub

Trade Minister Yeo held a videoconference on May 9 with Thermo Fisher Scientific, a U.S. supplier of scientific instrumentation, consumables, and software services, to discuss investment prospects of establishing a life science materials production plant in Korea amid the company’s plans to expand its vaccine materials infrastructure. Thermo Fisher Scientific is a global producer of both raw and subsidiary life science materials with approximately 100,000 personnel across 60 countries. It date2022-05-11

Trade Minister attends Trade Ministers’ Meeting to discuss Ukraine support

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo attended the virtual Trade Ministers’ Meeting convened by the UK Secretary of State for International Trade Anne Marie Trevelyan on May 4 to discuss support for the people and economy of Ukraine. This meeting was held to strengthen solidarity and cooperation of the international community with respect to economic recovery assistance for Ukraine, and was proposed and held by the UK government. The U.S., Germany, France, Australia, and Japan were among the partici date2022-05-06

Korea's exports grow 12.6% in April

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on May 1 that Korea’s exports in April moved up 12.6 percent to USD 57.7 billion. Imports expanded 18.6 percent to $60.4 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.7 billion. Exports in April achieved double-digit growth for the 14th consecutive month since March of 2021 in spite of Ukraine-Russia crisis, China’s zero-COVID lockdowns and previous year’s base effect. Year-on-year double-digit growth for this April is all the date2022-05-02

MOTIE leads public-private efforts to bolster supply chain response system

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo visited the Global Supply Chain Analysis Center (hereinafter 'Analysis Center') on April 29 to assess the supply chain status amidst China’s zero-COVID lockdowns and Russia-Ukraine situation so as to invigorate public-private joint efforts for stronger supply chain intelligence and countermeasures. The Analysis Center was launched on February 9 of 2022 by MOTIE, Korea International Trade Association (KI date2022-05-02

March retail sales record 7.1% growth, both online and offline positive

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on April 28 that Korea’s total retail sales in March saw a year-on-year growth of 7.1 percent. Sales at both offline and online retailers increased, up 6.3 percent and 7.9 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 “super s date2022-04-29

MOTIE attends 37th IPHE meeting for hydrogen economy development

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) attended the general meeting videoconference of the “37th International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE)” on April 26-27. Member states shared their newly enforced hydrogen economy policies as follow-up to the previous meeting in November, as well as their respective working-level task progresses. IPHE consists of 23 nations, including South Korea, the U.S., Japan, China, France, UK, Australia, UAE, and date2022-04-27

MOTIE holds 1st RCEP Joint Committee Meeting

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) attended the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Joint Committee on April 26 via videoconferencing at the Government Complex Seoul, the first meeting since its coming into force on February 1 this year. The Korean government delegation is led by MOTIE’s Director General for FTA Negotiations Lee Kyung-sik and comprises eight delegates from relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Minis date2022-04-27

First Vice Minister attends Korea Technology Center Opening Ceremony

Trade, Industry and Energy 1st Vice Minister Park Jin-kyu attended the Korea Technology Center (KTC) Opening Ceremony at the Jigok General Industrial Complex located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province on April 26, held by the global semiconductor company Lam Research. KTC is an R&D center established within the Jigok Industrial Complex by Lam Research. It was completed in February of this year, and is set to headquarter Lam Research Korea in the near future. The world’s 3rd largest semico date2022-04-26