Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

FDI pledged to Korea in Q1–Q3 reach historic $25.2 bln

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that the accumulated foreign direct investments (FDIs) pledged to Korea through January–September in 2024 (Q1–Q3) rose 5.2 percent year-on-year to an unprecedented USD 25.2 billion. The manufacturing sector soared 36.4 percent to $12.3 billion, renewing the quarterly high reached in Q3 2023. Electrical/electronics (up 35.9 percent to $4.5 billion), machinery/equipment/precision medicine (up 128.5 percent to $1.7 billion), and pharmaceuticals (up 136.4 percent to $0.7 billion) are among sectors that enjoyed steep climbs. Meanwhile, the service sector slowed to $12.0 billion (down 13.3 percent) as a result of the base effect from last year’s large-scale investments. FDI pledged from Japan hit historic highs at $4.7 billion (up 412.7 percent), followed by investments from China (up 316.3 percent to $4.6 billion), the EU (down 1.4 percent to $4.0 billion), and the U.S. (down 39.9 percent to $3.1 billion). By type, M&A investments pledged to Korea shrank 12.7 percent to $6.3 billion, whereas greenfield investments pledged to Korea grew 12.9 percent to $18.9 billion. FDI commitments made to non-capital regions hiked 2.7 percentage points to 26.4 percent of the entire FDI pledged to Korea.   date2024-10-02

Korea’s exports advance 7.5% in September

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced on October 1 that September monthly exports rose 7.5 percent year-on-year to USD 58.8 billion. Imports inched up 2.2 percent to $52.1 billion and the trade balance stood at a surplus of $6.7 billion. Maintaining growth for the 12th consecutive month, the export value for September hit an all-time high for the month and the daily average export value also reached a historic high of $2.9 billion (up 12.9 percent). By item, six out of 15 major export items advanced. Semiconductors (up 37.1 percent to $13.6 billion) increased for the 11th consecutive month, surpassing their record high set this June. Computer exports and wireless communication devices expanded 132.0 percent and 19.0 percent to $1.5 and $1.9 billion, respectively, growing for the ninth and seventh consecutive month. Snapping the four-month losing streak, automobile exports logged $5.5 billion (up 4.9 percent) despite the lower number of operating days (-1.0) and achieved a record high for September. Meanwhile, ship exports surged 76.2 percent to $2.4 billion and exceeded the 50 percent growth rate thresholds for the second consecutive month. Bio-health exports climbed 9.9 percent to $1.2 billion, gaining for the third consecutive month. By region, September exports to China marked this year’s highest at $11.7 billion (up 6.3 percent) on the backs of strong demand for semiconductors and wireless communication devices. The trade balance to China also broke the seven-month downward streak and stood at a surplus of $0.5 billion. Exports to the U.S. amounted to a record high for September at $10.4 billion (up 3.4 percent) and renewed monthly export highs for the 14th consecutive month. To the EU, exports hiked 5.1 percent to $6.0 billion amid steep growth of IT goods including wireless communication devices and computers, renewing monthly export highs for the second consecutive month. Exports to ASEAN and CIS countries showed an uptick of 0.6 percent and 8.2 percent to $9.5 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively, each rising for the sixth and third consecutive month.  To the Middle East, exports turned to an expansion after a month of decline, growing 15.5 percent to $1.6 billion. Energy imports decreased 8.4 percent to $10.4 billion as imports shrank for crude oil (down 11.6 percent) and gas (down 0.6 percent).  The trade balance kept up the surplus trend for the 16th consecutive month, surpassing that of last year by roughly $3.0 billion. As for exports for the third quarter (Q3) of 2024, Korea achieved $173.9 billion (up 10.7 percent year-on-year). Semiconductor exports logged all-time highs of $36.7 billion (up 41.4 percent) and exports to the U.S. ($30.6 billion) and the EU ($18.0 billion) likewise outperformed their previous Q3 highs. The trade balance for Q3 stood at a surplus of $13.9 billion, an improvement of $7.5 billion compared to Q3 2023.   date2024-10-02

Korea and Slovakia establish comprehensive base for wider cooperation in trade, industry, and energy

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn of the Republic of Korea and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of the Slovak Republic Denisa Saková signed a bilateral Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) memorandum of understanding (MOU) today in Seoul in the presence of Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on the margins of the Korea-Slovakia summit. Slovakia is among Korea’s top 10 EU trade partners and home to roughly 140 Korean businesses, where active bilateral supply chain collaboration is ongoing in automobiles and home appliances. Their cooperation is extending to future-oriented industries as well, such as electronic vehicles (EVs) and clean energy.   Korea and Slovakia plan to leverage their TIPF to not only advance trade and investment but also expand their comprehensive cooperation base across various areas such as industry, energy, and supply chains through joint corporate project development, promotion of business and institutional exchanges, and removal of trade barriers. The bilateral TIPF MOU sealed today follows those Korea previously inked with Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, laying down the groundwork for wider economic cooperation with the Visegrád Group (V4). Korea’s trade volume with the V4 has continued to rise by an average of 15 percent every year through 2004–2023, reaching a historic USD 26.1 billion last year.  With the existing Korea-V4 cooperation in automobiles and home appliances newly spreading to other areas like EV batteries, nuclear reactors, and defense, the complete Korea-V4 TIPF channel established on this occasion is anticipated to create fresh momentum for broadening the scope of Korea’s economic cooperation with the V4 countries.   date2024-09-30

Minister Ahn discusses economic and trade cooperation with Utah governor

Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn held talks today in Seoul with the U.S. National Governors Association (NGA) Chair and Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who is leading a trade delegation from the State of Utah, to discuss measures for Korea-Utah economic cooperation in aerospace, life science, healthcare, financial services, semiconductors, and carbon-free energy areas including nuclear energy and clean hydrogen. Composed of 50 members, the Utah trade delegation consists of the Utah Senate President and representatives of Utah businesses and relevant organizations. On the margins of the Utah trade delegation’s visit to Korea, Minister Ahn said that he looks forward to strengthening the networking between Korean and U.S. businesses and uncovering new joint projects for boosting Korean companies’ entry into the Utah market, a hub for fast-growing startups and cutting-edge firms. He also expressed hope that bilateral talent exchanges will gain further traction based on the University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC) in Incheon. Moreover, the minister asked Governor Cox for interest and support at the NGA level, regardless of the upcoming U.S. presidential election results, in ensuring the continuity and predictability of major U.S. laws that are likely to impact Korea’s investment in the U.S. so as to maintain and increase Korean businesses’ investments in the State of Utah and the U.S.   date2024-09-27

Korea’s first homegrown self-propelled howitzer engine ready for mass production, to enter global market in 2025

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) of the Republic of Korea held the delivery ceremony of the first homegrown engine for Korea’s self-propelled howitzers, the K9 Thunders, today at STX Engine’s Changwon plant.  The ceremony was attended by 60 persons including MOTIE Vice Minister Sungtaek Park, DAPA Minister Seok Jong-gun, STX Engine CEO Lee Sang-su, and Hanwha Aerospace Vice President Moon Ji-hoon. In September 2020, MOTIE and DAPA entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on technology cooperation for the localization of primary defense materials and parts and in following April, they launched the project for developing homegrown self-propelled howitzer engines. Within three years, they succeeded in the localization and mass production of approximately 500 key engine parts, resulting in a purely homegrown engine with enhanced performance and economic feasibility. The feat is anticipated to widen the path for the K9 Thunders’ global market entry. MOTIE Vice Minister Park underscored the importance of self-reliance in the production of vital defense materials and parts for Korea’s defense industry to keep up its pace amid the intensifying global exports race, vowing that the ministry will make further effort to secure critical technology for high value-added defense materials, parts, and equipment (“MPE”). DAPA Minister Seok remarked that the K9 Thunder has positioned itself as Korea’s high-end weapon, thanks to the localization of its engine via collaboration with MOTIE. He shared plans to bolster interministerial cooperation on the occasion of the achievement. MOTIE and DAPA aim to jointly develop next-generation prime technologies for hydrogen fuel cell systems and high-tech aircraft engines, while also working closely to secure 60 critical MPE technologies across five major advanced defense areas such as defense semiconductors.   date2024-09-27

Korea plans to raise corporate AI deployment rate to 70% by 2030

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol chaired the first National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Committee meeting in Seoul with the participation of academia and industry experts for discussions on Korea’s national AI strategy, measures for the diffusion of industrial AI transformation (AX), and private sector investment plans. Noting that AI in itself is of massive industrial value as an important foundational technology with prospects of creating enormous up- and downstream impact across all sectors, President Yoon highlighted that successful AI deployment over diverse industries will generate far-reaching economic effect. At the inaugural Committee meeting, MOTIE reported policy measures for the diffusion of AX, articulating plans to raise the level of corporate AI utilization rate (currently 31 percent) and the AI deployment rate at manufacturing sites (currently 5 percent) to 70 percent and 40 percent by 2030, respectively, through Korea’s three pillar industrial AX projects. They include the implementation of over 300 anchor projects for manufacturing and service industries by 2027 to provide concentrated R&D, finance, and consulting assistance toward projects involving the participation of buyer and supplier firms in AI solution, robot, and equipment, for which the first batch of 25 projects will be selected next month.  Under the industrial AX projects, the ministry further plans to announce measures in the near future for supporting the AI semiconductor ecosystem, while also pushing the establishment of an industrial data integration platform. First, a carbon data platform will be developed by 2027 with focus on the five most carbon-intensive sectors—steel and aluminum, battery, automobiles, home appliances, and textiles—on which risks are highest with regard to major countries’ carbon regulatory measures. The platform will then be extended to cover data on core sectors’ processes and supply chains as well. In addition to the three pillar projects, MOTIE will mull the prospects of nurturing an AI-specialized complex, training AX professional manpower through in-company graduate courses on AX, increasing tax incentives for key AX technology, and injecting a KRW 3.5 billion-plus policy funding into the AI field. Under the AI Industrial Policy Committee launched in May, MOTIE will be operating an AX Alliance for propelling anchor projects forward and a public-private industrial AX law forum to facilitate discussions on legal and institutional matters in an effort to boost the systematic drive for AX diffusion.  On reviewing the bills containing the aforesaid plans, President Yoon asked that all ministries actively cooperate as members of the National AI Committee to successfully accelerate the AI transition across Korea’s social and industrial landscape.   date2024-09-26

Korea and Serbia launch negotiations for bilateral EPA

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong and Serbia’s Minister of Domestic and Foreign Trade Tomislav Momirović jointly declared the launching of negotiations for the Korea-Serbia Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) today in Seoul, announcing Korea’s first trade negotiations with a Balkan country. Strategically located in the center of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe, Serbia is rich in critical resources such as lithium and zinc. It is rapidly rising as Europe’s new production base based on its robust manufacturing sector and is already home to Korea’s car parts and mobility businesses. Going forward, the two countries can anticipate cooperation over advanced industrial supply chains such as battery and electric vehicles (EVs), as well as nuclear reactors in view of the Serbian government’s recent push for nuclear power development. Noting that this year commemorates the 35th anniversary of the establishment of Korea-Serbia diplomatic relations, Trade Minister Cheong expressed his expectations for the EPA negotiations to serve as an institutional basis for opening new horizons on the two countries’ cooperative ties, catalyzing bilateral collaboration across various areas including automobiles, high-tech, renewable energy, and nuclear reactors. In conjunction with the launch of negotiations, MOTIE also held a business conference with Korean companies operating in the Serbian market and other relevant institutions to discuss promising joint projects in information technology, bio, energy, and critical minerals supply chains.   date2024-09-26

Korea and Thailand launch 2nd official negotiating round for bilateral EPA

Korea’s Deputy Minister for FTA Negotiations Roh Keon-ki and Director-General of the Department of Trade Negotiations of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand Chotima Iemsawasdikul are heading their respective delegations in the second round of official negotiations for the Korea-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) from September 25–27 in Seoul. The Korean government delegation is composed of representatives of various relevant ministries and will engage in negotiations with the Thai government delegation over 12 areas including goods, rules of origin, customs, government procurement, intellectual property rights, technical barriers to trade (TBTs), and economic cooperation. On the occasion of this second negotiating round, Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Suchart Chomklin, who is accompanying the Thai delegation to Korea, for talks on bilateral economic issues. The trade chief and the deputy minister attended the opening ceremony today to encourage both delegations as an expression of strong interest towards the EPA on behalf of their governments. In his opening address, Trade Minister Cheong urged the two delegations to partake in the negotiations with a forward-looking mindset to establish a bilateral trade agreement better tailored to the new global trade order and to improving the two countries’ economic cooperation. In this round of negotiations, both sides are aiming to deepen discussions based on their stance and issues affirmed during the first negotiating round held in July and actively seek ways to narrow differences to move the negotiations further forward.   date2024-09-25