Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea’s auto exports, production grow at double-digit rates in December 2018

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 18 that Korea's automobile exports and production in December 2018 grew at double-digit rates compared to a year earlier.Automobile exports last month increased 22.6 percent year-on-year to 219,313 vehicles due to newly introduced models, a base effect, and higher demand for eco-friendly cars. The number of green cars shipped overseas jumped 70.8 percent to 22,933 vehicles.The number of domestic vehicles produced by Korea's seven ma date2019-01-18

Materials, components exports rose 11.8 percent to $316.2 billion in 2018

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 17 that exports of 11 types of industrial materials and components in 2018 rose 11.8 percent year-on-year to USD 316.2 billion.Imports also improved 5.3 percent to $177.2 billion, making the trade surplus stand at $139.1 billion.By type, electronic components were responsible for 43.8 percent of the total exports. They were followed by chemical products and primary metals, which represented 15.6 percent and 8.9 percent, respectively date2019-01-17

Korea’s ICT industry posts record-breaking exports of $220.4 billion in 2018

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 17 that Korea’s information and communications technology (ICT) Industry posted record-breaking exports of USD 220.4 billion in 2018.Outbound shipments of ICT goods last year increased 11.5 percent compared to 2017, achieving double-digit growth rates for two years in a row. Monthly ICT exports have also been increasing for 24 consecutive months.Imports by the ICT sector in 2018 reached $107.1 billion, resulting in a trade sur date2019-01-17

FDI pledged to Korea reach record-breaking $26.9 billion in 2018

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 3 that foreign direct investments (FDI) pledged to Korea in 2018 reached a record-breaking USD 26.9 billion, up 17.2 percent from a year earlier.The increasing trend of FDI commitments continued last year, achieving more than $20 billion for four years in a row.FDI pledged through the second quarter reached a record $15.8 billion, thanks to foreign investment growth momentum that started in the fourth quarter of 2017. This led the a date2019-01-03

Korea’s trade value reaches record high of $1.1 trillion in 2018

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on January 1 that Korea’s trade value in 2018 reached a record high of USD 1.1 trillion, exceeding the $1 trillion mark for two straight years. The country’s annual exports posted a 5.5 percent growth to $605.5 billion, which is also an unprecedented achievement. With imports rising 11.8 percent to $535.0 billion, Korea remained as a net exporter for 10 consecutive years with a trade surplus of $70.5 billion.Compared to other years date2019-01-01

Online retail sales register double-digit growth in November

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on December 31 that Korea’s online retail sales in November registered a double-digit growth rate of 12.7 percent compared to a year earlier. With offline retail sales declining 0.5 percent, the overall retail sales saw an improvement of 4.6 percent.Despite growth in convenience stores and super supermarkets (SSMs), brick-and-mortar stores experienced a decrease in sales because hypermarkets slowed down.The growth of the online sales mai date2018-12-31

Korea’s annual ICT exports surpass $200 billion for first time

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on December 18 that Korea’s exports of information and communications technology (ICT) goods from January to November this year reached a record USD 204.5 billion, surpassing the $200 billion mark for the first time.However, the exports of ICT goods in November saw a slight decrease of 1.7 percent, posting the first decline in 25 months. This is primarily due to a slowdown in the expansion of semiconductors and sluggish sales of mobile p date2018-12-18

Auto exports, production post growth in November

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on December 13 that Korea's automobile exports and production in November posted growth compared to the same period last year.Exports of automobiles grew 1.6 percent to 238,357 units from a year earlier due to higher shipments of newly launched models to North America and Europe. In terms of value, automobile shipments to North America went up 0.2 percent to $1.7 billion, and those to the EU and non-EU European countries increased 3.3 percent date2018-12-13