Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Toray Industries invests over $100 mln in key materials production for advanced industries

Korea's Director-General for Cross-Border Investment Policy Peob-min Ryu attended today the groundbreaking ceremony for Japanese company Toray Industries’ advanced materials production plant in Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province. After establishing its textiles manufacturing plant in Korea in 1963, Toray Industries has continued to expand investment in critical materials areas such as high-performance engineering plastics, secondary battery separators, and carbon textiles. Toray Industries’ accumulated total investments in Korea over the last six decades amount to roughly KRW 5 trillion, the largest among Japanese manufacturers, and approximately 4,000 new jobs have been created in the local economy. During Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn’s visit to Japan in April 2024, Toray Industries pledged investment plans in aramid fiber production and this May, the company entered an investment cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Gumi City, North Gyeongsang Province, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) for a ₩500 billion investment in advanced materials areas by 2025. Today’s groundbreaking ceremony announces the commencement of construction for Toray Industries’ extension of facilities for producing aramid fibers and polyester film through a USD 100 million-plus investment. Aramid fibers are a class of fibers of ultra-high strength and ultra-high heat resistance used to produce electric vehicle (EV) motors and heat protective clothing. Polyester film is a key material for producing multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) used to make parts for EVs, AI devices, and autonomous vehicles. The establishment of a production base for these cutting-edge materials is anticipated to help reinforce the domestic supply chain and boost exports. In a congratulatory message at the groundbreaking ceremony, Director General Ryu stated that the ministry will give full measure to support the successful implementation of Toray Industries’ investment through cooperation with Gumi City and North Gyeongsang Province and shared plans to nurture a stable and attractive investment environment to further promote global high-tech companies’ investments in Korea.   date2024-10-23

Korea and Kazakhstan discuss implementation measures for June summit outcomes

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea met Kazakhstan’s Minister for Energy Almasadam Sätqaliev today at the Government Complex Sejong for talks on bilateral energy cooperation.  The first follow-up to the Korea-Kazakhstan summit held this June in Astana, today’s energy ministers’ meeting served as an opportunity for the two countries to assess summit outcomes in energy areas and discuss swift implementation measures.  The ministers shared the view that the recent summit has acted as a groundbreaking momentum for strengthening Korea-Kazakhstan energy exchanges. Based on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) inked by the two countries for electrical power industry cooperation, they discussed steps to boost Kazakhstan’s power policy collaboration with Korea via projects on improving environmental facilities, building combined cycle power plants (CCPPs), and increasing the utilization of renewable energy.  Moreover, both sides are aiming to implement summit outcome follow-ups in non-energy areas as well, such as establishing a critical minerals supply chain partnership and expanding official development assistance (ODA) in industry and energy sectors.  Requesting for greater participation of Korean companies in Kazakh energy plant projects going forward, Minister Ahn also asked the Kazakh government’s interest and support towards the global diffusion of the Carbon Free Energy (CFE) Initiative launched by the Korean government to achieve carbon neutrality through the utilization of diverse CFE sources.   date2024-10-22

Korea and Malaysia launch 5th negotiating round for bilateral FTA

Director General for FTA Negotiations Kwon Hye-jin at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea is heading the Korean delegation in the fifth negotiating round for the Korea-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) from October 22–25 in Seoul.  The Malaysian delegation is led by Senior Director for Strategic Negotiations Sumathi Balakrishnan at the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI). The two delegations, comprising roughly 60 members, will seek to move negotiations forward across 13 working groups including those on goods, services, investment, rules of origin, economic cooperation, digital, and bio. Following the joint declaration to resume Korea-Malaysia FTA negotiations this March, the two countries held the fourth official negotiating round this August in Kuala Lumpur. This fifth negotiating round is to focus on narrowing differences and accelerating discussions per each area based on previous negotiations.   date2024-10-22

Korea and Japan launch 17th bilateral Industrial Technology Fair

Deputy Minister for Trade Park Jong-won at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea attended the 17th Korea-Japan Industrial Technology Fair (“Fair”) today in Seoul. Launched in 2008, the Fair has since acted as a bilateral channel for business exchanges and industrial and technology cooperation between the two countries. Roughly 250 Korean and Japanese business leaders are taking part this year, including representatives of key industries such as Korea-Japan Economic Association Chairman and Samyang Holdings Chairman Kim Yoon and Japan-Korea Industrial Technology Co-Operation Foundation (JKF) Senior Director Uchida Toshiaki, as well as those from the Japanese Embassy in Korea and other government officials. The Fair is hosting one-on-one business consultations for Korean and Japanese information technology (IT) firms and materials and parts companies; technical consultations between Japanese experts and Korean businesses; and a Korea-Japan Cooperation Seminar for discussions on current trends and strategies regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles.  A part of the program is also dedicated to awarding six industry and academia figures for their contribution to bilateral industrial technology cooperation. In his congratulatory message, Deputy Minister Park assessed that industrial and technology cooperation is a strong driver in the development of Korea-Japan relations and highlighted that the Korean government will provide strong support towards these bilateral collaborations amid the increasing global trade uncertainties.   date2024-10-22

Korea and Austria discuss stronger economic cooperation

The Republic of Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Austria’s Federal Minister for Labor Martin Kocher on October 21 in Sejong City for talks on bilateral measures for stronger cooperation in trade, investment, industries, and Korea-EU trade. Austria is Korea’s 12th largest trade partner in the EU, their trade volume reaching USD 2.9 billion in 2023. In terms of investment, the two countries are expanding the scope of business cooperation centering on high-tech areas such as electric vehicle (EV) batteries and semiconductors. With Korea’s strength in industrial technology and Austria’s competitiveness in basic science fields, the two countries can look forward to extensive collaboration across diverse future-oriented areas like advanced manufacturing, digital, and hydrogen. In view of increasing bilateral cooperation in wide-ranging areas including bio and information and communications technology (ICT) through Eureka and other R&D platforms, Trade Minister Cheong proposed that Korea and Austria continue to support bilateral cooperation in high-tech industry sectors like hydrogen and artificial intelligence (AI) to further invigorate industrial technology collaboration among their companies and research labs. Moreover, addressing hydrogen energy as a future growth engine and an effective means for decarbonization, the trade chief noted the two countries’ progressing joint research in hydrogen mobility and suggested that they continue these efforts for the realization of hydrogen economies. Lastly, he articulated that Korean firms’ entry into Austria’s EV battery and car parts market is contributing to the Central European country’s economic growth, and asked the Austrian government’s interest and support with regard to Korean companies’ concerns over the EU’s battery bills and other economic legislations. date2024-10-21

Korea to serve as Steering Group member for Climate Club

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 18 that Korea has been appointed to serve in the Steering Group for the Climate Club, a multilateral consultative body launched under the objective of accelerating the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and carbon neutrality in the industry sector.  It was decided at the time of launch in December 2023 that a Steering Group will be formed when the Climate Club body reaches 40 members or more. Accordingly, with the number of members amounting to 40 as of August 2024, seven members were appointed to serve as the Steering Group, consisting of Australia, Egypt, the EU, Indonesia, Korea, Türkiye, and the UK. While leading the efforts for decarbonization in the industry sector, which takes up 30 percent of the entire global carbon emissions, the Climate Club is also taking the initiative in setting the norms for relevant issues such as low-carbon steel definition, interoperability considerations for emissions calculation, and low-carbon product transaction standards. During the first Steering Group meeting held on October 18, members discussed carbon leakage issues and Climate Club management measures going forward.   date2024-10-21

Korea and Japan’s business leaders seek synergy from bilateral economic cooperation

The Republic of Korea’s Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy Dukgeun Ahn attended the 31st Korea-Japan Business Conference today in Seoul, co-hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Japan Business Federation.  Launched in 1983, the Korea-Japan Business Conference is held on a regular basis as a channel for highest-level private-sector economic cooperation and has contributed with valuable suggestions to developing the bilateral economic cooperation. In his congratulatory message, Minister Ahn expressed appreciation for both countries’ business leaders’ efforts to advance Korea-Japan relations and vowed support for bilateral economic cooperation through close intergovernmental communication amid increasing global uncertainties. In commemoration of next year marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan, the minister shared plans to deepen bilateral cooperation through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Gyeongju City and the Osaka Expo, both slated for 2025. He ensured the Korean government’s active assistance in gaining outcomes over areas such as economic security cooperation, global green growth leadership through the Carbon Free Energy (CFE) Initiative, and joint efforts with the Global South and other third countries.   On the margins of the bilateral conference, Korean and Japanese economic groups discussed measures for cooperation with regard to realizing a sustainable society through digital transformation and hydrogen utilization, trade and investment issues including the Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation, as well as future collaboration for expanding people-to-people exchanges and making preparations for the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations.   date2024-10-18

Minister Ahn discusses Korea-U.S. economic cooperation with North Dakota Governor

The Republic of Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn held talks with U.S. Governor of North Dakota Doug Burgum today on the occasion of the governor’s visit to Korea and discussed the importance of establishing stable cooperative relations for Korea and the U.S.’ development, noting that the two countries’ alliance is advancing towards one of high-tech industries and supply chains through concerted efforts such as the Korea-U.S. summit and the joint statement declared at Camp David in 2023. During the talks, Minister Ahn addressed the need for continuity of U.S. major policies that are capable of directly impacting the Korea-U.S. economic and investment cooperation, including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and CHIPS and Science Act, so as to spur positive business expectations among Korean firms collaborating with U.S. counterparts. Both sides shared the understanding on the importance of Korea-U.S. relations in view of the two countries’ cooperation as key economic partners and agreed to further efforts in establishing stable and forward-looking bilateral relations. Minister Ahn also expressed high regard for the cooperation potential between Korea and North Dakota in light of Korea’s aim to nurture its hydrogen industry and achieve carbon neutrality through enhanced carbon capture technologies, as well as North Dakota’s key role in the Heartland Hydrogen Hub, and asked for Governor Burgum’s interest and support towards fostering a stable investment and business management environment to promote Korean companies’ investments in not only North Dakota but across the whole of U.S.   date2024-10-18