Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Korea's exports grow 5.1% in October

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 1 that Korea’s export value for the month of October grew 5.1 percent year-on-year to USD 55.1 billion, a first in 13 months. Imports shrank 9.7 percent to $53.5 billion, and the trade balance stood at a surplus of $1.6 billion, posting growth for the fifth consecutive month since June this year. The daily average export value ($2.6 billion) for October, considering the number of operating days, again broke the previ date2023-11-02

Rare earth permanent magnets for EV motors to be home grown

  Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Youngjin Jang attended the completion ceremony of Sunglim Advanced Industrial’s Hyunpoong Plant on October 27. The plant will pioneer the first-ever domestic production of neodymium-based rare earth permanent magnets. The Hyunpoong Plant will be producing approximately 1,000 metric tons of rare earth permanent magnets on an annual basis (sufficient for app. 500,000 electric vehicles), which is expected to reduce reliance on other countries date2023-11-01

Korea and Chile solidify cooperation in hydrogen, renewable energy & critical minerals

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Bang Moon Kyu visited Chile from October 29-November 1 as a Special Presidential Envoy to strengthen economic cooperation with Latin American nations in view of their recently rising strategic importance in terms of critical minerals supply chain and other issues. The visit was accompanied by an economic delegation composed of 39 representatives of public and private organizations and companies, including Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOT date2023-11-01

Korea's retail industry advances 9.5% in September

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 30 that Korea’s retail sales for September gained an overall growth of 9.5 percent year-on-year. Offline sales increased by 7.2 percent, as the Chuseok holidays boosted demand across all retail channels, with hypermarkets (up 10.0 percent) and “super supermarket (SSM)” operators (up 11.3 percent) at the helm. Online sales leaped 12.0 percent, with sales of food products (up 32.0 percent) growing on the ba date2023-11-01

Korea Eureka Day 2023 launched in Seoul

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 30 that the Korea Eureka Day 2023 is held through October 30-November 1 at the Lotte Hotel Seoul with the participation of approximately 100 persons from 12 countries, namely the UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Canada, Turkey, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland. Eureka is the largest global research and development (R&D) platform, in which a total of 47 countries (41 European, six non-European date2023-10-31

MOTIE discusses Korean companies' energy cooperation with Malaysia's Petronas

Deputy Minister for Energy Policy Lee Ho-hyeon met Petronas COO Adnan Zainal Abidin on October 27 in Seoul to discuss measures for cooperation in LNG, hydrogen, CCS (carbon capture and storage) and other energy areas. Petronas is Malaysia’s state-owned energy company currently engaging in a number of joint projects with Korean firms. The above talks came to be held on the occasion of COO Abidin’s visit to Korea seeking potential business partners. On LNG, Deputy Minister Lee highli date2023-10-31

Korea and Norway strengthen eco-friendly & marine plant networking

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Youngjin Jang attended the Norway Day 2023 on October 27 at Signiel Busan and encouraged the leaders of both countries’ shipbuilding and marine plant businesses and extended support for business networking. Cooperation in the shipbuilding and marine plant sector between the two countries is going strong, with Korea winning 61 percent of all shipbuilding orders placed by Norway in 2022. Held on the last day of the KORMARINE 2023 (Internationa date2023-10-31

CF Alliance takes off to lead global discussions on carbon neutrality standards

The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) announced that the launching ceremony for the Carbon Free (CF) Alliance took place on October 27 at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), attended by Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, representatives of member companies, and heads of national policy research institutes. The Alliance is viewed to play a crucial role in promoting the Carbon Free Energy (CFE) Initiative, as proposed by President Yoon Suk Yeol during his keyno date2023-10-30