Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

IT Trade Figures for July

2013 ○ July Exports - All industries : $45.84 billion (2.6%) - IT industry : $14.07 billion (10.1%) Imports - All industries : $43.13 billion (2.7%) - IT industry : $6.75 billion (6.1%) Trade balance - All industries : $2.71 billion - IT industry : $7.32 billion   ○ First Seven Months Exports - All industries : $322.49 billion (0.9%) - IT industry :$95.3 billion (10.8%) Imports - All industries : $299.75 billion (-2.1%) - IT industry : $45.95 billion (3.6%) Trade balance - All industries : $22.74 billion - IT industry : $49.35 billion       2012 ○ July Exports - All industries : $44.67 billion (-8.7%) - IT industry : $12.78 billion (-1.7%) Imports - All industries : $41.98 billion (-5.2%) - IT industry : $6.36 billion (-4.9%) Trade balance - All industries : $2.69 billion - IT industry : $6.42 billion   ○ First Seven Months Exports - All industries : $319.64 billion (-0.9%) - IT industry : $86.03 billion (-4.8%) Imports - All industries : $306.08 billion (1.2%) - IT industry : $44.35 billion (-6.2%) Trade balance - All industries : $13.57 billion - IT industry : $41.67 billion   - Figures for the year 2013 are tentative. - Year-on-year growth rates shown in parentheses.       ○ Value of Exports - Mobile Phones : $1.88 billion - Household Devices : $390 million - Semiconductors : $4.8 billion - Display Panels : $2.36 billion - Computers and Related Devices : $640 million - Televisions : $690 million ○ Year-on-Year Growth - Mobile Phones : 31.2% - Household Devices : -3.8% - Semiconductors : 21.7% - Display Panels : -15.1% - Computers and Related Devices : -11.5% - Televisions : 19.8%         Exports to the United States, the ASEAN region and China showed positive growth, while outbound shipments to Japan and the European Union were on a downward trend. Although strong demand for mobile phones boosted exports to the United States, Japan saw a decline due to a weak Japanese yen and sluggish sales of major IT products. ○ Value of Exports - China : $7.24 billion - Japan : $640 million - United States : $1.45 billion - European Union : $980 million - Oceania : $60 million - Latin America : $820 million - Middle East : $270 million   ○ Year-on-Year Growth - China : 10.4% - Japan : -23.6% - United States : 37.3% - European Union : -2.5% - Oceania : -16.2% - Latin America : 6.0% - Middle East : -19.7%         Meanwhile, IT imports gained 6.1 percent from a year earlier to $6.75 billion. While inbound shipments of semiconductors, printed circuit boards and mobile phones rose, imports of flat display panels and computers and related devices declined. With the exception of Japan, impo date2013-08-09

Korea, China and Japan Hold 2nd Round of FTA Negotiations

The second round of FTA negotiations among Korea, China and Japan was held on July 30 for four days in Shanghai, China. Assistant Minister for Trade Woo Taehee led the Korean delegation. The Chinese and Japanese delegations were headed by Vice Minister of Commerce Yu Jianhua and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Nagamine Yasumasa, respectively.   Based on the terms of reference adopted at the first round of talks, the discussion mainly focused on key issues related to the concession schedules and the scope of negotiations. The three parties held four working group meetings on the areas of trade in goods, trade in services, competition and legal provisions while hosting expert dialogues on the intellectual property rights and e-commerce sectors. For trade in goods, the three discussed modalities, the categorization of items and the exchange of statistical information.   For the next round of negotiations, the three parties agreed to hold expert dialogues on the fields of the environment, government procurement and food, during which they will decide whether to include such sectors in the negotiations.   Although negotiations are at an early stage, as the parties continue the process of deciding upon key issues and developing a framework for the talks, the three countries made significant progress in establishing an institutional framework for trilateral economic ties.   The third round of negotiations will be held in Japan in November or December.   * Released by the Bureau of East Asia FTA date2013-08-07

Trade Figures for July

2012 ○ July - Exports : $44.67 billion (-8.7%) - Imports : $41.98 billion (-5.2%) - Trade Balance : $2.69 billion   2013 ○ June - Exports : $46.71 billion (-1.0%) - Imports : $40.72 billion (-3.0%) - Trade Balance : $5.99 billion ○ July - Exports : $45.84 billion (2.6%) - Imports : $43.13 billion (2.7%) - Trade Balance : $2.71 billion ○ First seven months - Exports : $322.49 billion (0.9%) - Imports : $299.75 billion (-2.1%) - Trade Balance : $22.74 billion         ○ Value - Ships : $2.55 billion - Wireless Communications Devices : $2.09 billion - General Machinery : $3.82 billion - Petrochemicals : $4.11 billion - Steel : $2.56 billion - Semiconductors : $4.8 billion - Automobiles : $3.59 billion - Petroleum Products : $4.03 billion - LCD Devices : $2.07 billion - Textiles : $1.36 billion - Household Appliances : $1.2 billion - Automobile Parts : $2.14 billion - Computers : $710 million   ○ Growth Rate - Ships : 19.3% - Wireless Communications Devices : 27.3% - General Machinery : -11.7% - Petrochemicals : 7.8% - Steel : -19.4% - Semiconductors : 21.8% - Automobiles : -3.3% - Petroleum Products : -7.6% - LCD Devices : -13.5% - Textiles : -5.4% - Household Appliances : 5.1% - Automobile Parts : -0.5% - Computers : -9.7%   - The above figures are based on customs clearance data for the first 20 days of July and as such are only tentative.         ○ Growth Rate - China : 11.1% - United States : 4.8% - Japan : -21.7% - European Union : -2.3% - ASEAN : -4.9% - Middle East : -25.4% - Latin America : 2.7% - Oceania : 58.0%   ○ Percentage of All Exports - China : 28.2% - United States : 11.3% - Japan : 6.2% - European Union : 8.3% - ASEAN : 14.3% - Middle East : 4.9% - Latin America : 6.2% - Oceania : 4.2%   - The above figures are based on customs clearance data for the first 20 days of July and as such are only tentative.     ○ Growth Rate - Japan : -8.1% - United States : -16.6% - China : 3.7% - ASEAN : -10.3% - European Union : -12.2% - Middle East : -3.6% - Latin America : 12.9% - Oceania : -25.4%   ○ Percentage of All Exports - Japan : 12.1% - United States : 7.9% - China : 17.3% - ASEAN : 9.7% - European Union : 10.8% - Middle East : 23.4% - Latin America : 4.4% date2013-08-05

Retail Sales Figures for June

○ Percentage of Total Sales - Household appliances and cultural goods : 12.2% - Apparel : 8.2% - Household goods : 19.1% - Sporting goods : 4.5% - General goods : 4.6% - Food : 51.4%   ○ Growth Rate - Household appliances and cultural goods : 20.6% - Apparel : 4.4% - Household goods : 4.2% - Sporting goods : 5.2% - General goods : 7.2% - Food : -0.2%         ○ Percentage of Total Sales - General goods : 20.2% - Women’s suits : 9.3% - Women’s casual wear : 12.9% - Men’s clothing : 8.9% - Children’s goods and sporting goods : 14.1% - Household goods : 9.6% - Luxury goods : 12.6% - Food : 12.4% ○ Growth Rate - General goods : 1.1% - Women’s suits : -3.1% - Women’s casual wear : 3.2% - Men’s clothing : 0.0% - Children’s goods and sporting goods : 4.1% - Household goods : 15.7% - Luxury goods : 5.4% - Food : 4.6%       ○ Percentage of Total Sales - Household goods : 3.4% - General goods : 3.3% - Others : 36.6% - Food : 56.8%   ○ Growth Rate - Household goods : 11.5% - General goods : -0.1% - Others : 7.6% - Food : 10.8%   Sales Performance of Major Super Supermarket (SSM) Chains ○ Percentage of Total Sales - Daily necessities : 9.3% - General goods : 4.9% - Food : 85.8%   ○ Growth Rate - Daily necessities : -2.3% - General goods : -4.9% - Food : -2.5%   - Daily necessities include detergent, toothpaste, cosmetics and feminine products.     date2013-07-25

Parts and Materials Industry Trade Figures for First Half of 2013

○ All Industries - Exports : $276.7 billion (0.6%) - Imports : $257.1 billion (-2.6%) - Trade Balance : $19.6 billion ○ Parts and Materials - Exports : $130.0 billion (5.2%) - Imports : $81.7 billion (1.5%) - Trade Balance : $48.3 billion ○ Materials - Exports : $43.1 billion (-3.1%) - Imports : $32.3 billion (-4.5%) - Trade Balance : $10.8 billion ○ Parts - Exports : $86.9 billion (9.8%) - Imports : $49.4 billion (5.8%) - Trade Balance : $37.5 billion - Year-on-year growth rates shown in parentheses - The above figures are based on customs clearance data, and as such are only tentative.       ○ Exports Materials - Textiles : $2.5 billion (-0.8%) - Compounds and Chemicals : $22.3 billion (3.4%) - Rubber and Plastic Materials : $4.9 billion (0.2%) - Nonmetallic Minerals : $800 million (45.4%) - Basic Metals : $12.7 billion (-15.4%)   Parts - Fabricated Metals : $2.3 billion (-4.4%) - General Machine Parts : $11.6 billion (2.3%) - Computer and Office Machine Parts : $2.1 billion (18.6%) - Electrical Machine Parts : $12.2 billion (17.9%) - Electronic Components : $41.1 billion (12.8%) - Precision Machine Parts : $3.1 billion (5.5%) - Transportation Machine Parts : $14.5 billion (4.2%)     ○ Imports Materials - Textiles : $1.5 billion (1.9%) - Compounds and Chemicals : $13.8 billion (1.9%) - Rubber and Plastic Materials : $2.4 billion (-7.0%) - Nonmetallic Minerals : $2.1 billion (-2.4%) - Basic Metals : $12.6 billion (-11.2%)   Parts - Fabricated Metals : $1.0 billion (3.4%) - General Machine Parts : $10.1 billion (8.1%) - Computer and Office Machine Parts : $1.9 billion (0.6%) - Electrical Machine Parts : $8.2 billion (10.9%) - Electronic Components : $21.3 billion (5.8%) - Precision Machine Parts : $3.1 billion (-3.0%) - Transportation Machine Parts : $4.0 billion (0.7%)     ○ Trade Balance Materials - Textiles : $1.0 billion - Compounds and Chemicals : $8.5 billion - Rubber and Plastic Materials : $2.5 billion - Nonmetallic Minerals : -$1.3 billion - Basic Metals : $100 million   Parts - Fabricated Metals : $1.3 billion - General Machine Parts : $1.5 billion - Computer and Office Machine Parts : $300 million - Electrical Machine Parts : $4.0 billion - Electronic Components : $19.8 billion - Precision Machine Parts : $15 million - Transportation Machine Parts : $10.5 billion   - Year-on-year growth rates shown in parentheses       Trade Performance with Major Trading Partners ○ Exports - China : $44.1 billion - Japan : $6.8 billion - Middle East : $6.9 billion - Europe :$14.8 billion - United States : $11.8 billion - Latin America : $7.6 billion - ASEAN : $18.5 billion ○ Imports - China : $21.8 billion - Japan : $17.2 billion - Middle East : $1.1 billion - Europe : $13.8 billion - United States : $9.3 billion - Latin America : $1.3 billion - ASEAN : $ date2013-07-19

Foreign Investment Figures for First Half of 2013

date2013-07-16

Korea, Colombia to Advance Trade Ties

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick and his Colombian counterpart Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Sergio Diaz-Granados held a meeting on July 8 in Seoul to accelerate the ratification process of the Korea-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which was signed last February. The two officials reaffirmed the need for ratification as the trade pact is expected to greatly contribute to enhancing economic ties, and they agreed to work together on implementing the deal at the ear date2013-07-12

IT Trade Figures for First Half of 2013

date2013-07-11