Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Korea and Czech Republic hold 1st bilateral Supply Chain and Energy Dialogue (SCED)

Korea’s Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn and Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela held the first bilateral Supply Chain and Energy Dialogue (SCED) on September 20 in Prague. The Korea-Czech SCED is Korea’s second ministerial-level consultative channel following the Korea-U.S. Supply Chain Commercial Dialogue (SCCD). As strategic partners, Korea and the Czech Republic agreed to further reinforce cooperation over supply chains and energy areas. Through the SCED, both sides reaffirmed the mutual importance of their global position in the industrial and energy supply chain and laid the groundwork for swift cooperation amid the growing urgency for energy security and increasing supply chain instabilities. During this first SCED meeting, the two trade and industry ministers shared areas of key interest per each cooperation sector and discussed measures to expand the scope of collaboration. For trade, investment, and supply chains, the two sides noted the rapidly increasing bilateral trade volume and diversification of trade items, seeking cooperation measures by sharing best practices of supply chain crisis response. In advanced industrial sectors, they discussed collaboration and R&D support for the three major high-tech areas—battery, robot, and future mobility. Regarding carbon-free energy, the ministers concurred on strengthening policy and technology exchange in areas of common interest such as hydrogen, energy storage systems (ESS), and energy efficiency. For nuclear energy, they agreed to continue effort towards realizing their shared vision of building the Czech nuclear reactor together. For joint action, they decided to discuss steps for joint entry into third countries among other cooperation measures. Lastly, Minister Ahn stated that the SCED will serve as an important cooperation channel closely connecting the two countries amid intensifying global uncertainties and the growing emphasis on energy security. He maintained that the director general-level consultative channel be established by the end of this year for discovering and discussing joint projects.   date2024-09-23

Korea and Czech Republic hold policy dialogue aiming to establish bilateral policy exchange network

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held the Korea-Czech Policy Dialogue (“Dialogue”) on September 20 as part of measures to establish a policy exchange network between the two countries’ related institutions. The Dialogue was organized in tandem with the Korea-Czech Business Forum and served as a venue for both countries’ government officials, businesses, and institutions to gain firsthand insight from experts’ in-depth analysis, discussions, and policy recommendations on promising economic cooperation prospects. The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET), and the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) each presented on Korea-Czech cooperation in view of the era of economic security, strategic approaches concerning bilateral investment, and measures for industrial collaboration across major strategic sectors. David Müller, Director General of the European Union and Foreign Trade Section of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, presented on the progress and future of Korea-Czech economic cooperation. Noting that Korea and the Czech Republic are like-minded countries with export-oriented economic structures, KIEP President Siwook Lee stated that the two countries’ cooperation is essential in restoring free trade principles and responding to rising global protectionism, expressing anticipation of the Dialogue opening up new horizons for bilateral collaboration.   date2024-09-23

Trade Minister visits Google’s New York headquarters

Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong visited Google’s New York headquarters on September 12 and met Google Cloud's Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy Marcus Jadottee and discussed ways to deepen Korea-U.S. cooperation in IT and digital trade policies development before touring Google’s New York campus. date2024-09-13

Trade Minister speaks at Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation Seminar

Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong attended the Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation Seminar on September 12 at Korea Society headquarters in New York to discuss the impact of trade, investment and technology cooperation on both economies and future vision for Korea-U.S. economic cooperation.   The seminar was attended by 60 economy experts of both countries, including Korea Society President Thomas Byrne and representatives of Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and LG Business Research. date2024-09-13

Trade Minister Cheong engages in wide-ranging outreach to U.S.

Korea’s Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met various key figures in the Biden administration, U.S. Congress, academia, and financial circles in Washington D.C. and New York City during his visit from September 11–12 as part of outreach activities to advance the mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between Korea and the U.S. amid increasing changes in the trade environment. Among those in the current administration, Trade Minister Cheong met with Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves and discussed the outcomes and follow-up measures to the Korea-U.S. Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue Ministerial Meeting and the Korea-Japan-U.S. trilateral Commerce and Industry Ministerial Meeting held in June, as well as Korea’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Crisis Response Network chairmanship and other trade issues.  The trade chief met U.S. Representative Young Kim to discuss visa issues and asked support for investment incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other agendas of interest for Korean businesses. He also met with former Representatives Ron Kind, Jim Davis, and Tom Davis to discuss response measures to future U.S. industrial and trade policies. At Google’s New York headquarters, he sat down with executives to exchange views on digital trade policy development and ways to deepen Korea-U.S. advanced technology cooperation in AI, smart devices, and cloud computing before touring the cutting-edge working environment at Google’s New York campus.   Meanwhile, Trade Minister Cheong took part in the various events convened on the occasion of his visit. He attended the Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation Seminar and Investors Roundtable for wider scope of bilateral cooperation and gathered business issues from locally operating Korean companies. On the last day of his trip, he met with experts from LG Business Research and U.S. law firm Arnold & Porter at the Korea-U.S. Economic Cooperation Seminar to take stock of trade, investment and technology cooperation outcomes. Lastly, the trade minister met Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer among other leaders of major think tanks like Asia Society to assess the Korea-U.S. alliance and its role amid the rapidly changing global dynamics. In view of the growing geopolitical importance placed on East Asia, they discussed tasks to tackle for Korea to rise as a key country in terms of trade, economy, and security. Trade Minister Cheong stated that this trip to the U.S. leading up to its presidential elections is expected to further catalyze the two countries’ economic exchanges going forward.   date2024-09-13

Trade Minister chairs meeting with Korean firms in N.Y.

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong chaired a meeting with representatives of Korean firms operating in New York on September 11 in New York City and discussed business issues.   The meeting was attended by representatives of POSCO International, LG Electronics, Samsung C&T, Hanwha, and Doosan Enerbility. date2024-09-13

Trade Minister meets Eurasia Group President

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer on September 11 in New York City and discussed measures for deeper Korea-U.S. cooperation amid the changing trade environment. date2024-09-13

Trade Minister chairs Investors Roundtable in N.Y.

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong chaired the Investors Roundtable on September 11 (local time) in New York City with the participation of representatives from U.S. companies, including UPS, DuPont, Factorial Energy, EMP Belstar, and Morgan Stanley, where he gave opening remarks and discussed global trends, plans for investment in Korea, and related issues. date2024-09-12

Trade Minister holds investment declaration ceremony in N.Y.

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong received the investment declaration submitted by UPS Vice President of State Government & Public Affairs at UPS Axel Carrión on September 11 (local time) in New York City for upgrading the cargo terminal logistics system at Incheon International Airport. date2024-09-12

Advanced materials and logistics companies pledge $83.6 mln investments in Korea

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced on September 11 that United Parcel Service (UPS), Toray Advanced Materials Korea, and a semiconductor specialty gas manufacturer (“Company A”) submitted investment declarations worth approximately USD 83.6 million (KRW 112 billion) during Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong’s visit to the U.S. The world’s largest package delivery service company UPS currently operates a logistics business in Korea centering around its air express hub at Incheon International Airport (ICN). The multinational shipping company has pledged investment to advance its freight handling system at ICN, which is viewed to strengthen Korea’s logistics industry competitiveness through expedited services. Alongside the UPS' investment declaration, two other companies pledged investment during the trade chief's visit to the U.S. Toray Advanced Materials Korea, a global supplier of advanced material solutions, plans to expand facilities for producing polyester film, an advanced material used in the manufacturing process for displays and multilayer ceramic condensers (MLCCs). Meanwhile, Company A, producer of specialty gases used in the etching and cleaning process for manufacturing semiconductors, plans to expand facilities for producing specialty gases used for leading-edge chip manufacturing. These investments are expected to not only expand the advanced materials production base in Korea but also help stabilize the domestic chip industrial supply chain. On the heels of the investment declaration ceremony, Trade Minister Cheong attended the Investors Roundtable and discussed global industry trends as well as plans and issues concerning investments in Korea with representatives of DuPont, UPS, Emp Belstar, Factorial Energy, and Morgan Stanley.   MOTIE will be assigning ministry officials to take exclusive charge of each project for the swift and smooth facilitation of the declared investments and take steps to attract new foreign direct investment (FDI) in advanced industry sectors like semiconductors, secondary batteries, bio, and electric vehicles (EVs) to spur the economy and attain this year’s FDI target of $35 billion. date2024-09-12