Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Motion on Korea-China FTA ratifications passed at the National Assembly meeting

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 30 that Korean National Assembly passed the motion on the Korea-China ratifications.     According to the motion, customs duties on some of the trade items will be removed immediately if the Korea-China FTA is put in force within this year, and other items will also be free of customs duties on January 1, 2016. This will help Korean companies gain price competitiveness over other foreign companies in the Chinese market.     China currently accounts for about 25 percent of entire Korean exports. As such, the removal of customs duties following the FTA is likely to help Korean companies maintain the largest share of the Chinese import market.     Korean companies have been holding the largest share of the Chinese import market ever since achieving the largest share of the Chinese import market at 9.2 percent in 2013.     Once the Korea-China FTA is put in force, Korean companies will also be able to tap into some of the most promising service markets such as construction, environment, entertainment and law.     The Korea-China FTA is also expected to promote the growth of the Korean agricultural industry. Korean farm produce is very popular in China, which has been recording a two-digit growth in the agricultural industry since 2005.     The Korean government plans to take additional steps to set up a budget and offer tax rates that have been discussed as complementary measures at the bipartisan council meeting.     * Short version date2015-11-30

MOTIE Vice Minister Lee Attends France-Korea Joint Forum on Innovative Industry

MOTIE Vice Minister Lee Attends France-Korea Joint Forum on Innovative Industry   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s First Vice Minister Lee Gwan-sup attended the France-Korea Joint Forum on Innovative Industry in Paris yesterday, which was also joined by France's Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron. In a keynote speech at the forum, attended by about 150 government and business representatives from both countries, Vice Minister Lee celebrated the 130th anniversary of diploma date2015-11-27

MOTIE Vice Minister Moon and Swedish Minister Damberg Discuss Bilateral Economic Cooperation

      The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s Second Vice Minister Moon Jae-do received a visit by Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Mikael Damberg in Seoul yesterday.   During the meeting, the two exchanged views on how to strenghten bilateral economic cooperation between South Korea and Sweden and other global trade issues such as the 10th ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Nairobi, Kenya, next month.   Minister Damberg is leading a trade delegation to South Korea and Japan from November 25-27, which is accompanied by executives from major Swedish companies like Telenor, Volvo, Ericsson, Scania.   This Asian trip includes meetings with several ministers and leaders of major Korean and Japanese companies and a srminar on the Internet of Things (IoT).   The Swedish government unveiled a new export strategy in September, which includes a range of measures to improve the country's exports and international opportunities in growth market, especially in Asia. date2015-11-26

MOTIE 1st Vice Minister Lee Visits Italy for Industrial and Technology Cooperation

MOTIE 1st Vice Minister Lee Visits Italy for Industrial and Technology Cooperation   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s First Vice Minister Lee Gwan-sup led the South Korean delegation at the first meeting for industrial and technology cooperation with Italy this week.   During the meeting held in Rome, Vice Minister Lee and Italy's Deputy Minister for Economic Development Carlo Calenda discussed various ways to promote bilateral cooperation in fashion design, textile date2015-11-26

Korea and France to jointly develop new industry technologies such as self-driving car

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 26 that the 2nd Korea-France Joint Forum for Innovation Industry took place on the same day in Paris, France and two countries decided on joint R&D objectives to launch technical cooperation from the end of this year.     They discussed matters of cooperation aimed at the promotion of innovation industries, and decided on joint R&D objectives in the areas of self-driving car and digital health care.   date2015-11-26

South Korea Holds 2nd Round of FTA Negotiations with Central American Countries

      South Korea held the second round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Central American countries led by El Salvador this week.   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s FTA Director-General Cheong Seung-il led the Korean delegation for the negotations in San Salvador.   El Salvador’s Vice Minister of Energy Luz Estrella Rodriguez de Zuniga represented the six countries, including El Salvador, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua. date2015-11-25

FTA negotiations to be held on protecting Korean contents in new markets through copyright laws

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 19 that experts pointed out that Korea should engage in the FTA negotiation talks by taking into consideration the current conditions of the digital world in order to protect Korean content in emerging markets.     Choi Gyeongsu, one of the experts present at the meeting, said, "Most of Korean online content such as TV dramas, movies and music are distributed on the Internet and smartphones even in the emerging markets. Therefore, we need to come up with a system with which to prevent copyright violation by strengthening the access control tools through this FTA."     Here, the access control tools refer to various technical measures employed to prevent or control unauthorized access to the works, including DVD area code and access password.     Choi also stressed that Korea should add provisions on the protection of Korean broadcasting and satellite signals that are currently copied and transmitted illegally in the local areas."     The experts of copyright law also present at the meeting agreed that Korean online content will receive added protection if the civil and criminal procedures regarding copyright violation in the emerging markets are more clearly defined.     The strategic meeting for copyright protection in the FTA was called to order by MOTIE and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in order to review and discuss the goals and strategies of copyright negotiations through the FTA, while also sharing the trends in copyright negotiations through the RCEP and FTA copyright negotiations with America.     * Short version date2015-11-19

MOTIE Deputy Trade Minister Woo Attends 27th APEC Ministerial Meeting

MOTIE Deputy Trade Minister Woo Attends 27th APEC Ministerial Meeting   The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)'s Deputy Trade Minister Woo Tae-hee attended the 27th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting in Manila, the Philippines, this week. During the global gathering, Deputy Minister Woo stressed the need for promoting inclusive and sustainable growth through regional economic intergration in the Asia-Pacific. date2015-11-18

Korea and Vietnam Hold Sixth Joint Committee Meeting on Economic Cooperation

      Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick attended the Sixth Meeting of Joint Committee Between Vietnam and Korea for Cooperation on Nuclear Power Development, Energy, Industry and Trade in Hanoi last week.   During the meeting, Minister Yoon and Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade Vũ Huy Hoàng discussed their achievements of bilateral economic cooperation, including the Korea-Vietnam Incubator Park (KVIP) in Can Tho City.   To find out more information about the KVIP, please check this related article by Tuoi Tre News at date2015-11-16

A popular comic character to be used as a public relations officer for FTA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on November 10 that Dalma, a popular comic character in South Korea who represents typical, married middle-aged South Korean office workers, was appointed as a public relations officer for FTA.     The government agencies that voted to use him in their guideline for using FTA's include MOTIE, KCCI (Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and KOTRA (Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency), because the character in the comic book, "Cheer Up, Dalma!" portrays the everyday life of an ordinary Korean man.     The guideline includes the basic concept of FTA, export methods, business culture by country and a list of experts who can provide help on a case by case basis.     MOTIE has been promoting the use of this guideline through video and theater ads since August this year.     This time, the ministry published a guideline that can actually help Korean businesses seeking to enter the Chinese market. As for KCCI and KOTRA, they plan to use this guideline as a training material for the FTA staff.     The webtoon, "Cheer Up, Dalma!" on Naver had over 16,000 subscribers and more than 20,000 viewers per episode.     * Short version date2015-11-10