Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Korea to Build Secure System for Storing and Using Manufacturing Data, a Key Strategic Asset in the AI Era

High-quality manufacturing data and the infrastructure to store and use it are essential to successful AI transformation in manufacturing. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) held the third M.AX (Manufacturing AI Transformation) Expert Conference on June 5, 2026, to mark the administration’s first anniversary. The conference brought together manufacturing AI experts from industry, academia, and research institutions under the theme “Manufacturing Data, AI Models, and Infrastructure: The Keys to Successful M.AX.” Participants discussed the role of manufacturing data in M.AX and the AI models and infrastructure needed to secure and use high-quality data. Progress to Date As global AI competition intensifies, the success of M.AX depends on close cooperation among manufacturers, AI companies, academia, and research organizations. Korea’s world-class manufacturers and the high-quality data they hold are strategic assets in making the country a global leader in M.AX. The government is working to build a win-win environment and infrastructure needed for manufacturers and AI companies to develop manufacturing AI models that can be deployed directly at production sites. MOTIR is working through the M.AX Alliance, which brings together more than 1,500 manufacturers, AI companies, universities, and research organizations across 11 divisions, to secure manufacturing data and build an ecosystem for its use. The AI Factory Division is establishing a basis for using manufacturing process data through the AI factory project, which applies AI to manufacturing processes to improve productivity. It is also pursuing R&D to develop industry-specific foundation models and, through a new tacit-knowledge AI model project launched in June 2026, will accumulate data capturing the know-how of skilled workers across industries and processes. The AI Robotics Division is selecting flagship tasks where humanoids can be deployed and collecting motion data generated during development and demonstrations. The Autonomous Ship Division launched an AI data platform project in May 2026 to build infrastructure for securing real-world operational data from about 6,000 voyages, while the AI Future Mobility Division has begun developing a data pipeline to collect and process driving data alongside autonomous driving development and demonstrations. Plans Ahead Manufacturing data often contains critical intellectual property (IP), including core technologies and production know-how, as well as sensitive business information. Companies that provide such data therefore have strong concerns about possible leaks. To address this, MOTIR will build a manufacturing data library that will securely store, manage, and use data provided for follow-up R&D projects. Because the library will hold high-quality manufacturing data, MOTIR will put in place dedicated safeguards and procedures to prevent leaks and maintain security. Data may be used only in an isolated clean room and may not be taken outside, while access will be subject to a separate, strict review process. Until the manufacturing data library is completed, MOTIR is using the Manufacturing AI Solution Development Support Center, operated by the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI), as an interim hub. Since May 2026, the ministry has been storing data collected through the AI factory project and other initiatives at the center. Using this data, MOTIR plans to develop a prototype manufacturing AI foundation model by the end of 2026 and work with M.AX Alliance participants to test its field application and performance. It will also continue securing product data and developing product AI models. The AI Robotics Division will collect robot behavior and training data through industrial-site demonstrations and the planned robot data factory, while the Autonomous Ship Division will link real-world voyage data, data already h date2026-06-05

Minister Yeo Holds Roundtable with Ulsan Exporters

Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) chaired a roundtable with Ulsan exporters in Ulsan on May 29, 2026. The meeting was attended by representatives from local companies, including Hanjoo Light Metal, YK-INPRO E&C, and LIHAON. After delivering opening remarks, Minister Yeo discussed production conditions, export trends, and business concerns among major companies in Ulsan. Minister Yeo said MOTIR will continue helping local and small businesses enter export markets and provide sustained support for promising SMEs with the potential to play a central role in Korea’s exports. date2026-06-01

Minister Yeo Visits HD Hyundai Electric and Meets with Power Equipment Exporters

Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) visited HD Hyundai Electric in Ulsan on May 29, 2026, to support continued growth in Korea’s exports. During the visit, Minister Yeo toured key production lines, including transformer lines, and met with executives and officials from power equipment exporters, including HD Hyundai, Sam Dong, and Inheung Industries. They discussed government support for expanding Korean power equipment exports. date2026-06-01

Trade Minister Reviews Export Operations for Korea’s Leading Electrical Equipment Industry

Korea’s exports topped USD 80.0 billion in both March and April 2026, marking new export milestones. In particular, Korean electrical equipment exports are expected to reach a record high in 2026 as global demand grows, driven by AI infrastructure expansion, green energy transition policies, and replacement demand for aging U.S. power grids. Marking the administration’s first anniversary, Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) visited HD Hyundai Electric on May 29, 2026. During the visit, Minister Yeo reviewed the company’s export operations and met with the electrical equipment industry to hear directly from companies and discuss government support for expanding Korean electrical equipment exports. At the roundtable, participating companies asked MOTIR to help stabilize supply chains, including those for raw and subsidiary materials, and support continued business operations and exports amid global uncertainty. MOTIR will provide wide-ranging support to help Korean industries, including electrical equipment, sustain export growth. In 2026, the ministry will expand trade insurance to a record KRW 275.0 trillion, including KRW 114.0 trillion for SMEs and middle-market companies, to support balanced growth between large companies and smaller firms. MOTIR will also provide KRW 127.0 trillion over the next five years in financing, performance guarantees, and other support for medium- to long-term, large-scale projects in areas such as nuclear power, defense, and electrical equipment. For electrical equipment, MOTIR will help Korean companies win energy infrastructure projects worldwide by identifying opportunities, matching companies with projects, and arranging early financing as demand rises from AI data centers and other sources. “Even amid global uncertainty, Korea’s electrical equipment industry continues to lead global markets with highly competitive technologies,” Minister Yeo said. “The government will expand trade finance and utilize trade channels with major economies to help Korean companies expand their global reach.” Minister Yeo also met with local Ulsan companies, including Hanjoo Light Metal, INPRO E&C, LIHAON, Colorant Corea, Yetgan, ECOCAB, and Rinno Aluminum, at a working lunch to hear their business concerns. He highlighted that the government will continue supporting local and small businesses as they take their first steps into export markets and provide sustained support for promising SMEs to become key contributors to Korea’s exports. date2026-05-29

Third General Meeting of the AI Home Appliance M.AX Alliance

Choi Woo-hyuk, Director General for High Technology Industry at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR), attended the third general meeting of the AI Home Appliance M.AX Alliance at Electronics Hall in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on May 28, 2026. The meeting brought together about 80 participants from home appliance, component, and AI companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Coway, as well as universities and specialized institutions. Director General Choi said AI transformation across the manufacturing ecosystem is essential for staying competitive and that MOTIR will support the home appliance industry in advancing product intelligence and AI-based manufacturing transformation together. date2026-05-29

K-Home Appliance Industry to Tackle Challenges with M.AX

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) held the third general meeting of the Home Appliance M.AX Alliance at Electronics Hall on May 28, 2026. The meeting brought together Choi Woo-hyuk, MOTIR’s Director General for High Technology Industry, and about 80 representatives from Alliance companies and institutions. Launched in September 2025 to help transform Korea’s manufacturing ecosystem, the M.AX Alliance is changing industrial sites across the country. Since its launch with 10 divisions, the Alliance added the Industrial Complex AX Division in February 2026 and has grown into an industry-academia-research network of more than 1,500 companies and institutions across 11 divisions. AI adoption through the Alliance is helping raise manufacturing productivity by shortening production times and improving quality, while also supporting the development of technologies and components for AX products, including robotic hands. The Home Appliance M.AX Alliance has also maintained close communication with participating companies and institutions, focusing on innovative AI products and AI home appliance standards to strengthen the global competitiveness of Korea’s home appliance industry. As supply chain uncertainty grows amid the Middle East conflict and global competitors are closing the gap quickly, the industry faces an increasingly difficult operating environment. The government and industry plan to use the Alliance as a platform to advance AI-based manufacturing transformation, product innovation, and standard-setting. At the meeting, MOTIR announced three major tasks under Home Appliance M.AX to use AI to significantly improve productivity and strengthen innovation across Korea’s home appliance industry. The first task is to develop manufacturing AI models tailored to the specific needs of home appliance production sites. As consumer preferences become more diverse, mixed-model production, where multiple products are produced on a single line, has become essential. MOTIR will develop AI models that enable automated guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), and AI systems to manage production and logistics schedules in response to frequent line changes. Starting with key suppliers in major home appliance production hubs, including Gwangju and Changwon, the ministry will expand AI adoption across small and mid-sized home appliance companies. The goal is to help companies respond quickly and flexibly to orders for a wider range of products. The second task is to build training datasets and common development infrastructure to support the development of innovative AI home appliances. To systematically collect public AI training datasets that are difficult for individual companies to secure on their own, MOTIR will begin surveying Alliance participants in May 2026 and reflect their input in a roadmap for building these datasets. In the second half of 2026, the ministry will conduct a pilot collection of three types of AI training data, including food ingredient images and voice command corpora, before expanding the scope and scale of data collection from 2027 in line with industry and technology trends. MOTIR will also develop and supply common modules, including standard hardware and software development kits for AI home appliances, and open an AI home appliance life-cycle support center in Yongsan in July 2026. The center will support companies from product design to prototype production, helping ease the financial and technical burden on small and mid-sized companies. Third, to build trust in the AI home appliance market, the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) will prepare draft Korean Industrial Standards (KS) by the end of 2026 on areas such as technology grades for AI home appliances and inter-device security. MOTIR will also identify relevant policy support measures and link them to these standards to protect co date2026-05-28

Korea Highlights Crisis Management and Growth Opportunities in First-Year Policy Review

On the first anniversary of the launch of the People’s Sovereignty Government, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR, Minister JK Kim) reviewed its policy record over the past year and presented five key achievements. The past year was marked by overlapping crises. Global trade uncertainty and risks to energy and resource supplies from the Middle East weighed on the real economy; global oversupply put key industries, including petrochemicals, under pressure to restructure; and competition for global industrial leadership intensified around AI. MOTIR managed these risks closely while moving decisively to capture future growth opportunities. In November 2025, Korea concluded the Korea–U.S. tariff deal after months of sustained negotiations guided by a clear national-interest-first principle, reducing uncertainty for exporters. The agreement eased tariff burdens on key U.S.-bound exports, including automobiles and pharmaceuticals, and secured semiconductor treatment no less favorable than that of major competitors. Korea also laid the groundwork for strategic industry cooperation with the United States through the Korea–U.S. Strategic Investment MOU, Korea–U.S. shipbuilding cooperation under MASGA, and the Special Act on U.S.-Bound Investment. For the petrochemical industry, MOTIR moved early to restructure the sector and prevent its difficulties from spreading to regional economies. The ministry approved the first restructuring project between HD Hyundai Chemical and Lotte Chemical in Daesan and backed its implementation with more than KRW 2.1 trillion in financing, tax incentives, and regulatory streamlining. The Special Act on Strengthening and Supporting the Competitiveness of the Petrochemical Industry also created a legal basis for restructuring and a shift toward higher-value products. Following the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, the government and industry activated a coordinated public-private response to stabilize supplies of crude oil, naphtha, and other key materials, minimizing disruption to the real economy and people’s daily lives. By May 2026, Korea had secured crude oil and naphtha imports at around 90 percent of the 2025 level, reduced the share of Middle Eastern crude in total crude imports from 70 percent to around 50 percent, and helped restore petrochemical operating rates to about 75 percent. Despite trade and Middle East-related risks, Korea stepped up export support, with exports reaching a record USD 709.3 billion in 2025. Korea became the sixth country in the world to surpass $700 billion in annual exports. Exports have remained on an upward path in 2026, reaching a record $306.5 billion through April, up 40.9 percent year-on-year, putting Korea’s first entry into the world’s top five exporters increasingly within reach. Korea also broadened its export base through emerging-market diversification, growth in K-consumer goods exports, win-win trade finance, preferential loans for exporters, and the launch of K-Export Star 500. Foreign direct investment reached a record $36.1 billion in 2025. Finally, MOTIR began accelerating AI transformation in manufacturing. The ministry launched the Manufacturing AI Transformation (M.AX) Alliance to drive change across Korea’s manufacturing ecosystem. Within about eight months, participation grew to around 1,500 companies and institutions. In 2026, MOTIR will promote 100 new AI factories by applying AI to manufacturing processes in 12 key industries, including semiconductors and shipbuilding, and plans to deploy more than 200 by year-end. The ministry is also expanding AX across processes, products, and regions by operating the Industrial Complex AX Division, linking 10 AX demonstration industrial complexes with regional universities, and developing technologies and core components for AX products such as autonomous vehicles and humanoids. date2026-05-28

Roundtable with Shipbuilding Equipment Suppliers and Small and Medium-Sized Shipbuilders

Minister JK (Jung-Kwan) Kim of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) chaired a roundtable with shipbuilding equipment suppliers and small and medium-sized shipbuilders at Hanla IMS in Busan on May 27, 2026. Minister Kim delivered opening remarks and listened to industry challenges and policy suggestions. Participants included Kim Young-gu, CEO of Hanla IMS; Lee Min-geol, CEO of PANASIA; Kim Dong-geon, CEO of DongHwa Entec; Yoo Sang-cheol, CEO of HJ Shipbuilding & Construction; Youn Seog-Bong, CEO of Woori Marine; Lee Young-il, CEO of DTEC; and Choo Jin-hun, head of division at the Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute (KOMERI), along with representatives from shipbuilding equipment suppliers, small and medium-sized shipbuilders, and related institutions. Minister Kim said shipbuilding equipment suppliers and small and medium-sized shipbuilders form the foundation of the K-shipbuilding supply chain and are critical to Korea’s maritime security, adding that MOTIR will respond swiftly to on-the-ground needs, including equipment demonstrations, super-gap technology development, and order opportunities. date2026-05-27

Minister Kim Visits Hanla IMS

Minister JK (Jung-Kwan) Kim of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) visited Hanla IMS, a shipbuilding equipment company in Busan, on May 27, 2026. During the visit, Minister Kim received a briefing from company officials on its operations and on-the-ground challenges. Minister Kim toured the company’s manufacturing and R&D facilities and reviewed progress on its intelligent integrated system for autonomous maintenance. He also inspected the development site for core equipment technologies designed for the era of AI-enabled autonomous ships. date2026-05-27

MOTIR Supports Shared Growth Across the K-Shipbuilding Supply Chain

Minister JK (Jung-Kwan) Kim of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) visited Hanla IMS, a shipbuilding equipment company in Busan, on May 27, 2026. Minister Kim toured the company’s manufacturing and R&D facilities and reviewed progress on its intelligent integrated system for autonomous maintenance, confirming that key equipment technologies for AI-enabled autonomous ships are already being developed on site. After the site visit, Minister Kim held a roundtable with 12 organizations, including shipbuilding equipment suppliers, small and medium-sized shipbuilders, and related institutions, to hear industry challenges and policy suggestions. The discussion focused on implementing key tasks set out at the May 13, 2026, Roundtable on the K-shipbuilding vision, including expanded equipment demonstrations, green technology development, refund guarantee (RG) support for small and medium-sized shipbuilders, and AI transformation in shipbuilding. The government plans to incorporate the practical support needs raised by industry into future policy measures. At the roundtable, Minister Kim presented three policy directions to support shipbuilding equipment suppliers and small and medium-sized shipbuilders. First, the government will accelerate Manufacturing AI Transformation (M.AX) in shipbuilding. MOTIR and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF, Minister Hwang Jong-woo) plan to invest around KRW 500 billion through the Autonomous Ship M.AX Alliance to develop core equipment, including engine automation systems and radar. The ministries will also support installation on ships and align the work with International Maritime Organization (IMO) standard-setting efforts. Second, MOTIR will expand overseas opportunities and financial support for shipbuilding equipment suppliers and small and medium-sized shipbuilders. As MOTIR develops the MASGA project, which played a key role in the Korea–U.S. tariff deal, one of the administration’s first-year achievements, the ministry will focus on identifying project opportunities for these companies. MOTIR will also launch support for MRO infrastructure, certification, and export channels through programs for naval vessel MRO competitiveness and U.S. market entry. In markets such as India, Viet Nam, and the Philippines, where Korean shipbuilders are expanding and demand for Korean equipment is growing, MOTIR will promote joint entry with anchor companies. It will also work with relevant ministries and financial institutions to expand RG support, as rising overseas orders increase RG demand among small and medium-sized shipbuilders. Third, the government will strengthen cooperation with the shipping industry. Through the Strategic Council for Shared Growth in Shipbuilding and Shipping, launched in April 2026, the government will promote the use of newly developed Korean equipment in newbuild vessels and channel joint orders from Korean shipping companies, as well as domestic orders for essential vessels, toward small and medium-sized shipbuilders. It will also develop strategic public procurement plans to prepare for a downturn in the shipbuilding cycle. “Shipbuilding equipment suppliers and small and medium-sized shipbuilders form the foundation of the K-shipbuilding supply chain and are critical to Korea’s maritime security,” Minister Kim said. “We will promptly address on-site needs, including equipment demonstrations, super-gap technology development, and order opportunities for small and medium-sized shipbuilders.” date2026-05-27