Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Korea's retail industry climbs 8.2% in January

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on February 27 that Korea’s retail sales for January gained 8.2 percent year-on-year.   Offline sales inched down 0.3 percent as the Seollal holiday effect paled in comparison for January, with the holiday landing in February and driving down hypermarkets’ sales by 9.2 percent and reducing overall sales.   Online sales soared 16.8 percent, thanks to reservation promotions for newly released mobile phone models, heightened demand for travel package reservations and growing sales of convenience food products as a result of persisting inflation.   By item, sales of kids/sports (down 0.3 percent) fell, while home appliances/culture (up 11.4 percent), home/living (up 11.1 percent) and services/other (up 15.8 percent) rose.   MOTIE releases monthly retail sales figures based on surveys of 25 major retailers. Thirteen of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and four SSM operators. The remaining 12 are online retailers.   By offline channel type, sales at hypermarket chains fell 9.2 percent, with sales declining across all items, including miscellaneous goods (down 21.3 percent), home/living (down 19.4 percent), sports (down 18.6 percent), clothing (down 13.8 percent) and food products (down 7.4 percent).   Department store chains saw sales increase 0.7 percent overall, with clothing and fashion items showing declines, but household goods (up 16.4 percent) and foreign designer labels (up 6.6 percent) expanded.   Convenience stores advanced 6.1 percent as close proximity, small purchase shopping and eat-in trends continued, driving sales of all items, including instant food products (up 12.8 percent) and beverages/processed food products (up 5.7 percent).   SSM operators grew 7.1 percent in spite of declines in daily necessities (down 10.6 percent), miscellaneous goods (down 1.2 percent) and other non-food items, as sales of agriculture, fishery and livestock products (up 11.2 percent), fresh/prepared food products (up 9.9 percent) and processed food products (up 3.5 percent) advanced.   Sales per store dropped sharply for hypermarkets (down 8.3 percent), while those for department stores (up 0.7 percent), convenience stores (up 1.5 percent) and SSM operators (up 4.2 percent) increased.   Online retail sales (up 16.8 percent) shrank in fashion/clothing (down 4.7 percent), but low pricing promotions and reservation purchases of Seollal holiday travel packages and gifts raised overall online sales.   To note, reservation promotions for newly released mobile phones delivered a strong boost for home appliances and electronics (up 13.2 percent). date2024-02-28

Trade Minister meets State Minister for Commerce of Bangladesh

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Ahasanul Islam Titu, State Minister for Commerce of Bangladesh, on February 27 at ADNEC in UAE on the margins of the WTO’s MC13 to discuss trade and investment cooperation and measures to strengthen Korea-Bangladesh cooperation through trade networks like EPA and TIPF. date2024-02-28

Trade Minister meets Oman's Minister of Commerce, Industry &. Investment Promotion

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Oman’s Minister of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef on February 27 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on the margins of the WTO’s MC13 to discuss measures for plant cooperation and strengthening the Korea-Oman trade cooperation network (TIPF, GCC FTA). date2024-02-28

Trade Minister meets Uzbekistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Jamshid Khodjaev on February 27 at ADNEC in UAE on the margins of the WTO’s MC13 and discussed support for Uzbekistan’s accession to WTO and supply chain cooperation measures. date2024-02-28

Minister Ahn holds talks with U.S. Secretary of Commerce

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn held a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on February 27 at the Government Complex Seoul to discuss Korea-U.S. bilateral industrial and trade cooperation measures. date2024-02-28

Trade Minister meets Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries Sonsoles Garcia on February 26 at ADNEC in UAE on the margins of the WTO’s MC13 and discussed Korea-Ecuador bilateral trade issues. date2024-02-28

Trade Minister attends WTO MC13's session on Trade and Sustainable Development

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong attended the WTO MC13’s “Trade and Sustainable Development” ministerial session on the themes of trade, sustainable development, industrial policies and inclusion on February 26 at ADNEC in UAE with other WTO member countries’ trade ministers and WTO Director General Okonjo-Iweala. date2024-02-28

Trade Minister meets with Bulgaria’s Economy and Industry Minister

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met with Bulgaria’s Economy and Industry Minister Bogdan Bogdanov on February 26 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in UAE on the margins of the WTO’s MC13 and discussed trade, industrial and investment cooperation as well as EU’s economic legislations and major agenda items. date2024-02-27

Export control enforcement to tighten on common high priority items to prevent circumvention

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on February 26 that it plans to tighten enforcement on items listed under catch-all controls in accordance with the amended 33rd Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items (enforced February 24) for export control against Russia and Belarus.   MOTIE is currently running an export control implementation working group with relevant institutes and ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Korea Customs Service (KCS), Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Korea Strategic Trade Institute (KOSTI) and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) for managing the implementation of export control against Russia and Belarus, uncovering companies that illicitly export catch-all items and imposing administrative or criminal punishment in accordance with the Foreign Trade Act.   Through close cooperation with relevant authorities and allied nations, MOTIE and other ministries have uncovered companies that exported illegally to Russia or circumvented through third countries, and cases of punishment are increasing in number as of late.   With the list of catch-all control items extended in accordance with the amendment, it is expected that attempts to bypass export controls or circumvent through third countries will increase, to which MOTIE plans to tighten enforcement through joint efforts with related institutions.   To note, investigations and crackdowns will be concentrated on common high priority items, machine tools and other sensitive items as requested by cooperating countries in order to prevent circumvention.   Moreover, efforts will also go towards promoting and providing guidance on the amendment with KCS and KOSTI to prevent unauthorized export due to businesses' lack of awareness. date2024-02-27

Minister Ahn and U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo discuss forward-looking measures to deepen industrial and trade cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn held a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on February 27 to discuss forward-looking measures for bolstering industrial cooperation and requested the U.S.’ continued support over the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), CHIPS Act subsidies and other trade issues.   The talks were held at the request of Secretary Raimondo to congratulate Minister Ahn’s taking office and to discuss measures on expanding bilateral cooperation. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) have maintained close and cooperative ties through a number of initiatives, including the Korea-U.S. Supply Chain and Commercial Dialogue (SCCD) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF).   Minister Ahn viewed that the Korea-U.S. relations have advanced to a technological and advanced industrial alliance, encompassing semiconductors, the critical minerals supply chain, and technological security, and highlighted that MOTIE and the DOC continue to play key roles in strengthening the two countries’ cooperative relations in the future. Moreover, he asked for the U.S.’ cooperation on issues like the IRA tax credit, “foreign entity of concern” (FEOC), and the CHIPS Act subsidies.   The two sides highly assessed not only the bilateral Korea-U.S. cooperation, but IPEF and other forms of multilateral cooperation as well, building a shared consensus on the importance of the Korea-U.S.-Japan commerce and industry ministers’ meeting in accordance with the initiative from the Trilateral Leaders’ Summit at Camp David last August.   MOTIE plans to further efforts to enhance cooperation with the U.S. in advanced industries and supply chains, while giving full measure to promptly push policies to strengthen the competitiveness of semiconductors, EVs, and other advanced domestic industries. date2024-02-27