Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Korea-Vietnam Business Forum Held During State Visit by Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok attended the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum at Lotte Hotel Seoul on the morning of Tuesday, August 12, 2025, demonstrating a commitment to strengthening bilateral relations. The forum was co-hosted by Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) during Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to Korea. As the first state visit since Korea’s new government took office, the event brought together over 500 participants, including Second Vice Minister of MOTIE Lee Ho-hyun and Minister of MOF Nguyen Van Thang, government officials, agency representatives, and business leaders from both countries. It also featured a corporate presentation session where six Korean and Vietnamese firms shared insights on three key topics: digital, cutting-edge industries and supply chains, and energy. In the presence of the general secretary and the prime minister, a total of 52 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) were signed between bilateral private businesses and agencies. The MOUs will establish new foundations for economic partnership, covering various areas such as industrial cooperation, energy, and food and tourism. Of these, 28 MOUs cover traditional manufacturing and emerging industries, including shipbuilding, aviation, AI, finance, and port logistics. These agreements are expected to diversify industrial cooperation between the two countries through initiatives such as joint investment, human resources development, and industry-academia collaboration. 11 MOUs address areas such as clean energy and power grid stabilization, strengthening the foundation for stable and sustainable energy supply chains between the two countries. In addition, 3 MOUs on high-speed rail partnerships will likely create opportunities for Korean companies to participate in Vietnam’s national transportation and construction projects, while 10 MOUs on food, tourism, and other areas are expected to establish closer bilateral cultural cooperation. The Korean government plans to work closely with the Vietnamese government based on economic cooperation platforms such as the Joint Committee on Industry and Free Trade Agreements, to ensure the MOUs are effectively implemented and deliver tangible results. date2025-08-14

Minister Meets Vietnam’s Finance Minister

Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan met with Vietnam’s Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang at Lotte Hotel Seoul on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, during Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam’s state visit. The ministers discussed ways to expand bilateral foreign direct investments and other areas of economic cooperation. date2025-08-13

Trade Minister Attends 32nd PECC General Meeting

Korea’s Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo attended the 32nd Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) General Meeting at The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) conference center in Seoul on Tuesday, August 12, 2025. The trade minister delivered a keynote address on the theme, "Trade, AI, and Demographics in a Shifting Global Landscape." The event brought together over 200 participants, including Lee Si-wook, President of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy; Chung Chul, President of the Korea Economic Research Institute; Kim Chang-beom, Vice Chairman of FKI; and Richard Cantor, International Co-Chair of PECC and Vice Chairman of Moody's Investors Service; as well as government representatives from APEC member economies, industry insiders, and academics. date2025-08-13

Trade Minister Delivers Keynote Address at PECC, APEC’s Think Tank

Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) attended the 32nd Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) General Meeting on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) Conference Center in Seoul, Korea. The event was co-hosted by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy and FKI. PECC brings together government, industry, and academic representatives from across the Asia-Pacific region, serving as an official observer of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and functioning as its think tank. Established in 1980, PECC directly contributed to the launch of APEC in 1989 by developing the concept for a regional economic cooperation body. This year marks the first time in 20 years that Korea is serving as APEC Chair. The PECC General Meeting was held in Seoul under the overarching theme, “Trade, AI, and Demographics in a Shifting Global Landscape." Trade Minister Yeo was invited as a special keynote speaker alongside James Robinson, 2024 Nobel Laureate in Economics and Professor at the University of Chicago. In his address, Yeo presented Korea’s mid- to long-term trade strategies for responding to fundamental shifts in the global trade environment, as well as his vision for the future direction of APEC. In his keynote address, he stated, “The global trade environment is undergoing a structural transformation,” identifying the securitization of economic issues, the weaponization of interdependence, and the rapid digitalization of trade driven by AI as the three major changes. He stressed that trade, technology, and supply chains are no longer purely economic issues but matters directly linked to national security. He noted that interdependence once served as a foundation to prevent disputes and promote cooperation, but under recent trade protectionism, it is increasingly being used as a weapon to pressure trading economies for national profit. Trade Minister Yeo added that these shifts in the trade landscape will have a particularly significant impact on the Korean economy, considering its high trade dependency (over 90 percent) and ratio of manufacturing (27 percent). To this end, he proposed three countermeasures: diversifying supply chains and markets through wider cooperation with the Global South, including ASEAN and India; strengthening convergence policies that combine trade, industry, and security with a focus on strategic sectors; and leading the establishment of new trade rules in areas such as climate change, supply chains, and AI. He stated, “Trade and industrial policy can no longer be pursued separately,” emphasizing the need for a packaged approach binding strategic sectors, trade negotiations, overseas investment, and technical cooperation. Furthermore, the trade minister remarked, “We stand at a turning point where the trade order that enabled global economic growth is undergoing fundamental change. Now more than ever, APEC needs to seek creative, practical cooperation,” calling on APEC and PECC, incubators of policy ideas for Asia-Pacific economic growth and prosperity, to “band together once again for cooperation and solidarity in the Asia-Pacific region.” In line with the 2025 APEC Summit scheduled for October, MOTIE is preparing various international business events to generate tangible economic outcomes. These include the APEC CEO Summit hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the Invest KOREA Summit; and Boom-Up Korea Week. The Korean government plans to successfully host APEC, demonstrating the country’s economic resilience and mature democracy to the world while exercising open leadership as a middle power in the evolving global trade order. date2025-08-13

Minister Meets Vietnamese Counterpart

Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan met with Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien at Lotte Hotel Seoul on Monday, August 11, 2025, during Vietnamese General Secretary To Lam’s official visit to Korea. The ministers discussed bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, followed by the exchange of Records of Discussion on establishing a technology cooperation center for critical mineral supply chains. date2025-08-12

Korea and Vietnam to Strengthen Industrial Cooperation for Supply Chains and Energy Transition

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) on Monday, August 11 to promote cooperation in renewable energy. The signing took place in the presence of President Lee Jae Myung and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam immediately following the bilateral summit that morning, held during the Vietnamese leader’s official visit to Korea. In addition to this agreement, an MOU between companies from both countries was signed in the field of human resources development for nuclear power, laying the groundwork for substantive economic cooperation and a stronger, future-oriented partnership. MOTIE and MOIT signed the MOU on renewable energy cooperation as part of efforts toward a sustainable energy transition. Through this agreement, the two countries plan to actively discover public-private collaborative projects in promising renewable energy fields, including solar power, wind power, and energy storage systems, and support corporate investors in resolving business challenges. Korea Electric Power Corporation and Petrovietnam signed the MOU on cooperation in human resources development in the nuclear energy sector in the presence of both leaders. The agreement is expected to build professional talent in the nuclear power sector and improve understanding of Korean nuclear technology to strengthen the foundation for bilateral cooperation on building nuclear power plants. Meanwhile, the two ministers exchanged Records of Discussion between the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and Vietnam’s National Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Science and Technology on establishing a technology cooperation center for critical mineral supply chains in Vietnam, at the bilateral ministerial meeting held prior to the summit at Lotte Hotel Seoul. Under this agreement, the two sides will launch a five-year development assistance program in the second half of this year, with an investment of KRW 16.6 billion (USD 12 million), to procure equipment, provide technical guidance, and train workers for the beneficiation and smelting of critical minerals in Vietnam. The Korean government will actively support corporate activities to ensure that concrete business projects are realized through this MOU and through continued public-private cooperation. date2025-08-12

Workshop on Recent Approaches to Domestic Regulation of Services in APEC

Korea’s Director General for Multilateral Trade and Legal Affairs Oh Choong-jong attended the Workshop on Recent Approaches to the Domestic Regulation of Services in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Region held at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, on Wednesday, August 6, 2025. In his congratulatory remarks, the director general stated, “The services industry is the driving force of APEC’s economic growth, and its importance continues to grow as its scope expands with digital transformation.” He added, “APEC, as an incubator of new ideas, has long supported the multilateral trading system. We hope this workshop will serve as a catalyst for achieving meaningful outcomes at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled for next year.” The MOTIE workshop brought together government delegations from Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the US; Jaime Coghi Arias, Chair of the WTO negotiations on services domestic regulation; Jillian DeLuna, Convenor of the APEC Group on Services; as well as representatives from the APEC Business Advisory Council, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, and Walmart, and other domestic and international industry figures and experts. date2025-08-07

APEC 2025 Opens Up Discussion on Regulatory Improvements to Boost Services Trade

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held the Workshop on Recent Approaches to the Domestic Regulation of Services in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region on Wednesday, August 6, at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, where the 3rd APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting is now taking place. Domestic regulation of services aims to enhance transparency and predictability in domestic processes such as licensing and qualification, with the goal of reducing transaction costs and promoting trade in services. APEC established relevant non-binding principles in 2018, while the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted legally binding disciplines in 2021 following plurilateral negotiations. These disciplines entered into force in 2024 and currently apply to 72 WTO members, including 16 APEC economies. According to WTO research, these members account for over 92.5% of global services trade, and implementation of the disciplines is projected to cut global trade costs in the services sector by more than USD 127 billion. The MOTIE workshop brought together government delegations from Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the US; Jaime Coghi Arias, Chair of the WTO negotiations on services domestic regulation; Jillian DeLuna, Convenor of the APEC Group on Services; as well as professional experts and representatives from the APEC Business Advisory Council, the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, Walmart, and various industries. The event consisted of four sessions covering recent developments in APEC and WTO discussions, sharing best practices among member economies, and discussing the impact of domestic regulation on services trade and sector-specific issues such as tourism and AI, and future directions for regulatory development. At the event, Korea’s Director General for Multilateral Trade and Legal Affairs Oh Choong-jong stated, “The services industry is the driving force of APEC’s economic growth, and its importance continues to grow as its scope expands with digital transformation.” He added, “APEC, as an incubator of new ideas, has long supported the multilateral trading system. We hope this workshop will serve as a catalyst for achieving meaningful outcomes at the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference scheduled for next year.” date2025-08-06

8th Korea-China (Shandong) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange

Korea’s Deputy Minister for Trade Park Jong-won attended the 8th Korea-China (Shandong) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange at the Grand Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Friday, August 1, 2025. In his congratulatory remarks, he expressed hopes that Korea and Shandong would strengthen cooperation for smoother supply chains, expand collaboration into new areas such as the healthcare, bio, and hydrogen sectors, and continue efforts to broaden exchanges between companies from both regions. He then listened to presentations on key topics related to the healthcare, medical, hydrogen, and low-carbon industries. The event brought together more than 250 participants, including bilateral government officials, as well as business representatives. date2025-08-05

Public-Private Policy Dialogue on AI and Trade

Korea’s Director General for Multilateral Trade and Legal Affairs Oh Choong-jong attended a public-private policy dialogue on AI and trade on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, held at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, Korea, to discuss measures to expand business opportunities and manage risks through harmonized AI policies within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. In his opening remarks, the director general stated that this policy dialogue marked the first APEC-level discussion on the future of AI and trade. He added that the public-private discourse would serve as a starting point for leading APEC economies in AI, such as the US and China, to confer closely and flesh out plans for implementing AI initiatives in trade, with the goal of achieving meaningful outcomes at the APEC Ministerial Meeting scheduled for late October. The dialogue brought together more than 100 participants, including government officials from 21 APEC members, as well as domestic and overseas business representatives. date2025-08-05