Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Government holds 1st National High-Tech Strategic Industries Committee Meeting

South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo presided the 1st National High-Tech Strategic Industries Committee (hereinafter “Committee”) Meeting on November 4 at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Seoul. The Committee will serve as the highest decision-making body in the establishment, execution and inspection of policies for investment, personnel training, regulatory reform and finance in supporting the nation’s efforts to achieve a super gap across high-tech strategic industries. There are 20 members from both the public (12 persons) and private sector (8 persons), composed of relevant ministries’ officials, and experts from economic organizations, industries, academia and the R&D sector. Another important function of the Committee is to oversee regulatory exceptions, and take charge of the deliberation and resolution process regarding difficulties that domestic firms face to prevent them from falling behind in the high-tech race. The abovementioned Committee meeting covered the following three agenda items. One, the Government will designate three major industries (semiconductors, secondary batteries, displays) and related 15 high-tech strategic, world-leading technologies that necessitate the protection of the super gap, personnel and technologies. Two, the Government will designate special industrial complexes and roll out packages catering to their needs in terms of securing the location, building power and water infrastructure, permits, technology, personnel and financing. The complexes will be designated by the first half of 2023. Three, the Government confirmed its plans to designate schools for master's and doctorate programs to train up a ready-to-work and specialized workforce. For the semiconductor industry, the plan is to train up 30,000 workers over the next decade, 5,000 of which will be educated through specially designated master's and doctorate courses. Three semiconductor-specialized schools will be designated by early next year to start their programs in the second semester of 2023. For secondary batteries and displays, one or two schools will be designated in 2024 after a demand survey, followed by a prefeasibility study for further designation. The Government stated that the 2nd Committee meeting is slated for early next year, as high-tech strategic industries are growing in importance and prone to rapid changes. date2022-11-07

MOTIE holds CBAM Countermeasures Conference

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn presided the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) Countermeasures Conference on November 3 at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) to led discussions on CBAM legislation progress and Korea’s response measures.   The conference was attended by representatives of various companies and organizations, including POSCO, Hyundai Steel, Korea Nonferrous Metal Association and Korea Petrochemical Industry Association.   &n date2022-11-04

Minister for Trade attends IPEF Symposium

Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn attended the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Symposium on November 3 in Seoul, held under the theme of “Order in the Indo-Pacific Region and Korea’s Negotiation Strategy: Economic Security and Trade Cooperation.”   In his congratulatory message, Minister Ahn stated that “the international order is rapidly changing due to geopolitical factors like the intensifying U.S.-China competition and Ukraine situation,&rdqu date2022-11-04

Korea signs nuclear reactor MOU & LOI with Poland

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on October 31 that it signed an MOU with the Polish Ministry of State Assets, and a letter of intent (LOI) was also signed between Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Poland's ZE PAK (private energy company) and PGE (state-owned public power company).   MOTIE’s Minister Lee Chang-yang stated that “this project is an achievement enabled by the Yoon administration’s policies and strong push for nuclear rea date2022-11-04

Korea and Saudi Arabia hold talks on energy supply chain cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang held a videoconference with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on November 2 at the latter’s request and discussed bilateral cooperation in energy sectors. The two countries shared the emphasis on the need to cooperate for oil market stabilization and clean energy collaboration.   date2022-11-04

Korea and Saudi Arabia hold talks on energy supply chain cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang held a videoconference with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on November 2 at the latter’s request and discussed bilateral cooperation in energy sectors. The two countries shared the emphasis on the need for communication and cooperation between them, as crude oil supplier and consumer, to seek out oil market stabilization measures. Noting that Saudi Arabia is Korea’s major source of crude oil and the two date2022-11-04

Korea and India hold 9th round of CEPA upgrading negotiations

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that the 9th round of Korea-India negotiations for an upgraded Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are held on November 3-4 in Seoul.   The Korean delegation is headed by Director General for FTA Policy Yang Gi-uk, while India’s is headed by Joint Secretary at Department of Commerce Anant Swarup. Director General Yang remarked that “cooperation with India is all the more critical as the global economy date2022-11-04

Korea and India hold 9th round of CEPA upgrading negotiations

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced that the 9th round of Korea-India negotiations for an upgraded Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) are to be held on November 3-4 in Seoul. The Korean delegation is headed by Director General for FTA Policy Yang Gi-uk, while India’s is headed by Joint Secretary at Department of Commerce Anant Swarup. Relevant ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and date2022-11-03

2nd Vice Minister attends Korea Energy Show 2022

Trade, Industry and Energy 2nd Vice Minister Park Il-jun attended the Korea Energy Show 2022 on November 2 at KINTEX in Ilsan held under the theme of “Low Carbon, High-Efficiency C-Tech Innovation for a Sustainable Future.”   In his opening message, Vice Minister Park emphasized the importance of low carbon and high-efficiency c-tech innovation to effectively respond to energy security and climate change. He also toured the various exhibition booths, including the Renewable En date2022-11-03

1st Vice Minister attends Tech Inside Show 2022

Trade, Industry and Energy 1st Vice Minister Jang Young-jin attended the Tech Inside Show 2022 on November 2 at KINTEX in Ilsan held to share technological breakthroughs and strategies in MPE (materials, parts, equipment) industries, where he awarded orders and medals of merit to 20 persons.   In his congratulatory message, Vice Minister Jang emphasized the “important role of MPE companies in overcoming global supply chain crises,” and awarded those who contributed to the deve date2022-11-03