Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea’s online retail sales improve 8.7% in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 29 that Korea’s online retail sales in July saw a year-on-year improvement of 8.7 percent. Overall retail sales, however, inched down 0.1 percent as sales at brick-and-mortar stores decreased 5.6 percent.These results are 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 (SSM) op date2019-08-30

Exports of Korean ICT goods drop 21.8% to $14.5 billion in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 21 that July exports of Korean information and communications technology (ICT) goods fell 21.8 percent year-on-year to USD 14.5 billion.Inbound shipments, on the other hand, moved up 6.9 percent to $9.7 billion, and trade balance in this sector stood at a surplus of $4.8 billion.By item, semiconductor exports dropped 27.7 percent to $7.6 billion, following lower demand for chips used in servers and mobile phones. Lower prices compare date2019-08-21

Korea’s auto exports post double-digit growth in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 15 that July exports of Korean automobiles grew 11.6 percent to 215,927 vehicles compared to the same period last year. In value terms, outbound shipments increased 21.6 percent to USD 3.8 billion. This expansion in exports was largely attributable to improved sales of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and eco-friendly cars in North America and the EU.For environment-friendly vehicles, exports jumped 102.3 percent to 25,063 units. These date2019-08-16

Korea’s July exports decrease 11% to $46.1 billion

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 1 that Korea’s exports in July decreased 11.0 percent year-on-year to USD 46.1 billion. Imports also declined 2.7 percent to $43.7 billion, and the trade balance stood at a surplus of $2.4 billion, remaining positive for 90 straight months.The decrease in exports was due to a mix of different factors: i) worsening external conditions such as the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute and Japan’s export restrictions, ii) a slowd date2019-08-01

Overall retail sales in Korea increase 5% in June

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 30 that Korea’s overall retail sales in June grew 5.0 percent compared to the same period last year.Sales of offline retailers inched up 0.7 percent, and those of online retailers advanced 11.7 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 fo date2019-07-30

Letter by the ROK government regarding Japan’s plan to revise its export controls (Summary)

The government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) sent a letter to its Japanese counterpart last week to address the fact that Japan's planned amendments to its Export Trade Control Order are not based on sufficient grounds. The revisions are designed to remove the ROK from its white list for trade.Read the summary of the letter: date2019-07-30

Statement to media by Minister Sung on MOTIE's letter sent to Japan's METI

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo said in a press briefing on Wednesday that the Ministry delivered an official letter to Japan calling for the immediate restoration of normality by canceling its export restriction plan.Read the full statement: date2019-07-24

Korea’s ICT exports in June fall 22.4% to $14.8 billion

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 22 that Korea’s exports of information and communications technology (ICT) goods in June decreased 22.4 percent year-on-year to USD 14.8 billion.Imports inched down 0.9 percent to $8.6 billion, which made the country’s trade surplus in this sector $6.3 billion.By item, exports of semiconductors dropped 25.3 percent to $8.4 billion as demand fell for semiconductors used in servers and mobile phones. Lower prices also contrib date2019-07-22