Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

President Park Geun-hye Returns Home After Four-Nation Tour of Latin America

      President Park Geun-hye arrived in Seoul today after concluding her four-nation state tour of Latin America from April 16 to April 25, which included Colombia, Peru, Chile and Brazil.   In Brazil, the final stop on her 10-day trip, President Park and President Dilma Rousseff agreed to advance bilateral relations in various fields such as trade, healthcare and information and communications technology (   After the summit in Brasilia, the South Korea president flew to Sao Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, to attend a Korean fashion show and host a business forum, which MOTIE Minister Yoon Sang-jick attended as a key representative.   date2015-04-27

South Korea and Brazil to Seek Bilateral Cooperation

      President Park Geun-hye visited the National Congress of Chile to meet with Patricio Walker, president of the Senate, and Marco Antonio Núñez, president of the Chamber of Deputies, during her state visit to the South American country this week.   The South Korean president left Chile for Brazil yesterday, the final stop on her four-nation tour of Latin America, where she will hold a summit with President Dilma Rousseff later today to discuss ways to promote bilateral cooperation. date2015-04-24

Korea and Chile agree to jointly develop technologies for copper mining

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on April 23 that Korea and Chile agreed to jointly develop technologies that can be used for copper mining.     Representatives of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources who are currently touring four South American countries with Korean President Park Geun-hye signed an MOU on joint development of application technologies for low grade copper ores with CODELCO on April 22 at the Sheraton Hotel Santiago, Chil date2015-04-23

South Korea and Chile to Enhance Bilateral Cooperation

        President Park Geun-hye arrived in Chile yesterday, the third stop on her four-nation state tour of Latin America after Colombia and Peru.   The South Korean president received a warm welcome from Chile's President Michelle Bachelet and attended a business forum to promote cooperation between the two countries.   MOTIE Minister Yoon Sang-jick, who is accompanying President Park, attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with his Chilean counterpart Aurora Williams Baussa on copper technology development.   date2015-04-23

South Korea to Strengthen Ties with Colombia and Peru

South Korea to Strengthen Ties with Colombia and Peru   South Korea agreed to strengthen economic cooperation with Colombia and Peru during President Park Geun-hye's state visit to the two South American countries.   During a summit in Colombia, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on projects for leasing electric car batteries and building self-sufficient towns.   President Park also discussed expanding cooperation with Peru beyond trade to include Li date2015-04-21

Minister Yoon Sang-jick Accompanying the President on Four-Nation State Visit to Latin America

date2015-04-20

MOTIE holds 2015 Display Touch Technology Idea Contest to create new markets using touch screen technology

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on April 20 that it is hosting the "2015 Display Touch Technology Idea Contest" with Korea Display Industry Association in order to create new markets using touch screen technology, where ideas are accepted for two different areas: creative convergence and applied product.     Ideas for creative convergence can encompass the areas of IT, fashion, furniture, construction and transportation where display technology can be used, while practical product ideas must be something that can be used by relevant businesses for short or long-term commercialization of products as well as other commercial ideas.     Applications are accepted from April 27 to June 26, 2015.     It will be a team competition where the grand prize winner will receive 5 million won ($ 4,500) and the MOTIE Award, while the second and third place winners will receive 2 million won and the Korea Display Industry Association Award and 1 million won and the Korea Display Industry Association Award, respectively.     * Short version date2015-04-20

South Korea`s President Makes Visit to Four Middle East Nations

date2015-04-06

Electricity and Major Retailers Sales Trends in February 2015, and Business Service Index (BSI) for 2Q

  □ In February, the volume of South Korea's electricity sales for industrial use increased from a year earlier. This was primarily attributable to an increase in the volume of electricity used and a rise in contract demand. The total volume of electricity sales also increased from the previous year due mainly to the rise in heating load.   □ Regarding sales by major retailers reported in February, the sales of hypermarkets, department stores, convenience stores, and super supermarkets increased, behind the Lunar New Year's holiday. ㅇBy product, the sales of food items grew substantially from a year earlier at all retailers, due to the Lunar New Year's holiday.   □ ㅇ Companies performed poorly at the beginning of 2015, with the Business Survey Index (BSI) on business conditions standing at 85 in the first quarter of the year.   date2015-03-30

Automobile Industry Trends for February 2015

  □ The volume of South Korean automobile production, domestic sales, and exports decreased by 12.0 percent, 0.8 percent, and 13.7 percent, respectively. This was attributed to fewer operating days due to Lunar New Year’s day, continuing economic recession in emerging markets such as Russia, less demand in oil producing countries, and Yen depreciation.   □ : Production decreased by 12.0 percent from a year earlier to 317,746 units, despite a rise in consignment production at Renault Samsung. This fall was mainly attributable to fewer operating days and failing to control production volume.   □ : Domestic sales decreased by 0.8 percent from a year earlier to 120,812 units. This was attributable to fewer operating days and rising domestic market share of imported cars.   - Sales of imported cars increased by 24.9 percent from a year earlier to 17,332 units.   □ : Exports decreased by 13.7 percent from a year earlier to 211,596 units. This was mainly attributable to fewer operating days, less demand in oil producing countries such as Russia and Middle East, and intensified competition with Japanese motor companies due to Yen depreciation.   date2015-03-30