Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

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

Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Minister JK Kim) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) on Monday, August 11, 2025, to promote cooperation in renewable energy. The signing took place immediately following the Korea–Vietnam summit held earlier that morning during General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam’s state visit to Korea, with President Lee Jae Myung and General Secretary To Lam attending the ceremony.  Companies from both countries also signed an MOU on workforce 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 to support a sustainable energy transition. Under the agreement, the two sides will pursue joint public-private projects in promising renewable energy areas—including solar power, wind power, and energy storage systems (ESS)—and help corporate investors address business challenges. Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Petrovietnam (PVN) also signed an MOU on nuclear power workforce development, with the two leaders in attendance. The agreement will train specialized personnel for the Korean nuclear power sector and deepen understanding of Korea’s nuclear technology to further strengthen the foundation for bilateral cooperation on nuclear power construction. Meanwhile, at a bilateral ministerial meeting held prior to the summit at Lotte Hotel Seoul, the two ministers exchanged Records of Discussion signed by the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) 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. Under the arrangement, the two sides will launch a five-year development assistance program (ODA) in the second half of 2025, investing KRW 16.6 billion (USD 12 million) to procure equipment, provide technical guidance, and train personnel for the beneficiation and smelting of critical minerals in Vietnam. Going forward, the Korean government will support corporate activities to translate the MOU into concrete business projects 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 Leads Discussion on Regulatory Improvements to Boost Services Trade

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Minister JK Kim) held the Workshop on Recent Approaches to the Domestic Regulation of Services in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon, on the sidelines of the third APEC Senior Officials’ Meeting. Domestic regulation of services refers to efforts 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 data, these members account for over 92.5 percent 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 United States; Jaime Coghi Arias, Chair of the WTO negotiations on services domestic regulation; Jillian DeLuna, Convenor of the APEC Group on Services; and representatives from the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC), the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute (KCTI), Walmart, and other industry and expert groups. The program consisted of four sessions covering recent developments in APEC and WTO discussions, best practices among member economies, the impact of domestic regulation on services trade, sector-specific issues such as tourism and AI, and future directions for regulatory development. At the event, Oh Choong-jong, Director General for Multilateral Trade and Legal Affairs at MOTIE, stated, “The services industry is a key driver of economic growth in the APEC region, and its importance continues to grow as digital transformation expands its scope.” He added, “APEC is an incubator of new ideas and has 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

APEC Automotive Dialogue to Continue Talks on Intelligent, Eco-friendly Future Mobility Technologies and Policies

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Minister JK Kim) announced that the 42nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Automotive Dialogue (AD) will be held from Friday, August 1 to Saturday, August 2, 2025, at Songdo ConvensiA in Incheon as part of Korea’s APEC 2025 host-year program. Established in 1999, the AD is an official public-private consultative body where governments and industry representatives from across the APEC region share key automotive policy issues and industry trends and discuss cooperation. Delegations from 14 APEC member economies—including the Republic of Korea, the United States, Japan, and China—will attend, and MOTIE and the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA) will again serve as co-chairs, following the 41st AD held from May 8 to 9, 2025, at the Jeju International Convention Center (ICC). The agenda includes the global automobile market outlook; strategies for electric vehicle and battery ecosystems; the social impacts of emerging technologies such as AI and autonomous driving; and the inclusiveness and sustainability of future mobility. Korea will present on battery safety technology trends, hydrogen mobility, connected and autonomous driving technologies, and related policy issues. On July 31, 2025, ahead of the AD, officials and experts held a working-level workshop on the sustainable development of the automobile industry and people-centered mobility, laying the groundwork for cooperation on future vehicle technologies and policy exchanges among APEC members. The AD will provide an opportunity for APEC members to explore joint responses to key issues in the future vehicle sector and shape cooperation toward a sustainable and inclusive future mobility ecosystem. date2025-08-01

Korea's Exports Rise 5.9% in July

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on August 1 that Korea’s exports in July 2025 rose 5.9 percent year-on-year to USD 60.8 billion, while imports edged up 0.7 percent to $54.2 billion. The trade balance recorded a surplus of $6.6 billion. Daily average exports for the month, factoring in the number of working days, also rose 5.9 percent to $2.4 billion. Of Korea’s 15 major export categories, three posted growth in July. Semiconductors hit a historic high for the month, up 31.6 percent to $14.7 billion, driven by rising contract prices and sustained global demand for high-value memory products, such as HBM and DDR5. Automobile exports grew 8.8 percent to $5.8 billion for the second consecutive month, supported by strong demand for hybrid electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles. Ship exports increased for the fifth straight month, soaring 107.6 percent to $2.2 billion fueled by greater shipments of high-value vessels, including tankers and LNG carriers. Non-major export items reached a new record of $14.2 billion with the help of agricultural food products (up 3.8 percent to $1.1 billion), cosmetics (up 18.1 percent to $1.0 billion), and electric machinery (up 19.2 percent to $1.6 billion). Furthermore, exports increased in six out of nine major regional markets. Exports to ASEAN climbed 10.1 percent to $10.9 billion, driven largely by strong growth in semiconductors, though China-bound exports dropped 3.0 percent to $11.0 billion. Exports to the US increased 1.4 percent to $10.3 billion due to a rise in semiconductors, wireless communication devices, cosmetics, electric machinery, and other non-major export items, offsetting declines in steel and automobile parts. Exports to the EU grew for the fifth consecutive month, gaining 8.7 percent to $6.0 billion, with multiple major export items such as automobiles, ships, and petroleum products trending upward. Exports to CIS countries (up 21.5 percent to $1.2 billion) grew for the fifth consecutive month, and Latin America (up 4.4 percent to $2.7 billion) and India (up 10.7 percent to $1.8 billion) marked their second consecutive months of growth. Exports to Taiwan also soared 68 percent to $4.7 billion thanks to a near-doubling of semiconductor exports. date2025-08-01

Korea’s retail industry grows 7.8% in H1 2025

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that Korea’s retail industry gained 7.8 percent year-on-year in the first half (H1) of 2025, with offline sales declining 0.1 percent and online sales advancing 15.8 percent. MOTIE's monthly retail sales figures are based on surveys of 23 major retailers. Thirteen of them are brick-and-mortar retailers: three department store chains, three hypermarket chains, three convenience store chains, and four super supermarket (SSMs) operators. The remaining 10 are online retailers. Korea’s retail industry growth over the past five years was mainly driven by sales of department stores, convenience stores, and SSMs, powered by consumer preference for luxury goods and shopping local trends. Moreover, the increasing number of single-person households led to the expansion of small quantity purchases and online grocery shopping. On the other hand, online retail sales rose steeply each year alongside the growth of the service sector, as e-coupons, travel/culture packages, and delivery services continued to flourish. During H1 2025, offline retail sales were affected by deteriorating consumer sentiment, rise of e-commerce, and the decreasing number of brick-and-mortar store visitors. Consequently, sales at hypermarkets (down 1.1 percent) and convenience stores (down 0.5 percent) dropped, whereas those of department stores inched upward by 0.5 percent on the backs of increasing demand for luxury goods. SSMs (up 1.8 percent) experienced a steady growth in the number of stores based on the rise in food prices and demand for home dining. By category, strong demand for home dining and services drove up sales of food products (up 8.3 percent), service/other (up 28.8 percent), and home/living (up 3.7 percent). Online retail sales were especially high in service/other (up 57.6 percent) and the sales growth of food products was also higher across online retail (up 19.6 percent) compared to offline (up 0.6 percent). Meanwhile, sales of fashion/miscellaneous (down 2.6 percent) and kids/sports (down 2.9 percent) decreased. For the month of June 2025, offline retail sales fell 1.1 percent year-on-year while online sales climbed 15.9 percent, achieving an overall growth of 7.3 percent.   date2025-07-30

Trade Minister Meets U.S. Trade Representative

Korea’s Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on July 25 (local time) in Washington, D.C. to discuss ways to advance bilateral tariff negotiations. date2025-07-28

Minister Meets Chair of White House Energy Council

Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan met with White House National Energy Council Chair Doug Burgum on July 24 (local time) in Washington, D.C. to explore measures to deepen bilateral cooperation in the energy sector. date2025-07-28