Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Korea, MERCOSUR convene first round of negotiations for trade agreement

Korean government officials led by the Trade Ministry’s Director General for Free Trade Agreement Negotiations Kim Ki-joon (center) met with their counterparts from the South American trade bloc, MERCOSUR, led by Director General for Integration and MERCOSUR Affairs of the Uruguayan Foreign Ministry Valeria Csukasi (second from left) to convene the first round of negotiations for a trade agreement between the two parties in Montevideo, Uruguay, on September 11.During the initial round of n date2018-09-12

Minister Paik delivers speech on industrial cooperation at Korea-Indonesia Business and Investment Forum

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Paik Ungyu delivered a speech on industrial cooperation at the Korea-Indonesia Business Investment Forum attended by Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Seoul on September 10.During his welcoming remarks, Minister Paik called for strengthening cooperation between the two Asian countries in manufacturing, infrastructure, future technologies, and free and fair trade.At the forum, 15 memoranda of understanding were signed to expand and diversify areas of industri date2018-09-10

Vice Minister Lee emphasizes creating new growth opportunities in bio-health industry

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Lee Inho delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of BIOplus 2018, which was hosted by the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBio) to share recent bioindustry trends and seek new business opportunities, in Seoul on September 6.During the speech, Vice Minister Lee underlined the importance of new growth opportunities in Korea’s bio-health industry and suggested policy directions based on the country’s abundant biotechnology data, date2018-09-06

Trade Ministry publishes agreed outcomes of Korea-US FTA amendment and modification negotiations

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Office of the United States Trade Representative published the agreed outcomes of amendment and modification negotiations to the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement at 10:00 p.m. (local time) on September 3.As the first step in its domestic procedure, the Ministry will gather public comments on the Korean translations of the two protocols from September 3 to 10. The submitted comments will be reviewed for possible inclusion before finalizing the Korea date2018-09-03

Korea’s August exports surpass $50 billion for first time

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on September 1 that exports last month expanded 8.7 percent year-on-year to USD 51.2 billion, surpassing $50 billion for the first time for August exports. Exports in the first eight months also reached a record high of $399.8 billion, up 6.6 percent from the same period last year.Average daily exports also hit an August record high of $2.1 billion, and won-denominated exports increased 7.8 percent to 57.4 trillion won.The increase in outbound date2018-09-01

Trade Minister attends 6th RCEP ministerial meeting

Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong (fifth from right in the first row) attended the sixth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) ministerial meeting held in Singapore from August 30 to 31.During the meeting, Trade Minister Kim and top trade officials from 16 countries including China, Japan, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states emphasized the importance of RCEP amid growing uncertainties in the global trade environment and reaffirmed their commitment to reach a date2018-08-31

July retail sales up 7.8 percent, as retailers see growth online, offline

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 30 that overall retail sales in July 2018 expanded 7.8 percent compared to July 2017, as online and offline retailers both saw growth.   Online sales jumped 17.8 percent, seeing the biggest year-on-year growth since January 2018.   Sales at brick-and-mortar retailers also climbed, 2.3 percent year-on-year, led by sales growth at convenience stores and department stores.   All categories of retailers except for co date2018-08-30

Korea, Indonesia hold automotive dialogue

Deputy Minister for Trade Kang Sung-chun (left hand side, fourth from left) sought bilateral cooperation in the automobile industry with his Indonesian counterpart during the first Korea-Indonesia Automotive Dialogue in Seoul on August 24.   During the dialogue, the two Asian trade partners decided to have automotive dialogues on a regular basis to expand cooperation in the future car industry, such as electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered cars, and autonomous cars.   Regarding marke date2018-08-24

July ICT exports top $18.6 billion, led by semiconductors, displays, phones

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 16 that exports of information and communication technology (ICT) goods in July were worth USD 18.6 billion, up 18.2 percent year-on-year.   Semiconductors, display panels and mobile phones, the three top ICT export categories, all saw growth simultaneously for the first time since December 2014. ICT exports have now seen double-digit growth for 20 consecutive months, since December 2016.   ICT imports saw an increase o date2018-08-16

Auto parts exports rise 7.1 percent in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on August 13 that auto parts exports rose 7.1 percent year-on-year to USD 2 billion in July.   The expansion was mostly led by export growth to the U.S. and Chinese markets. Shipments to North America and Asia increased 7.2 percent to $714 million and 17.9 percent to $501 million, respectively. Shipments to the European Union (EU) and to non-EU European countries also saw growth, posting 2.8 percent growth to $392 million and 11.8 perce date2018-08-13