Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Korea and Czech Republic Strengthen Standards Cooperation in Battery, Hydrogen, and AI

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Minister Ahn Duk-geun) Korea launched the Korea-Czech Republic Standards Cooperation Workshop in Seoul on February 11, 2025. The event brought together approximately 50 private standards experts and government officials from the two countries. The Workshop followed an agreement signed in October 2024 in Edinburgh to implement standards cooperation and to support the outcomes of the bilateral summit held last September.  Korean and Czech standards experts shared the latest technology and standardization trends in battery, hydrogen, and artificial intelligence (AI) and exchanged views on standards information and joint standards development research for bilateral standards cooperation. On the margins of the event, the Korean Standards Association (KSA) and the Czechoslovak Association of Standardization (CAS) signed a standards information distribution license agreement to promote support for Korean and Czech exporting businesses’ obtaining of standards approval for mutual market entry. date2025-02-11

CFE Global Working Group Launches Inaugural Meeting

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Minister Ahn Duk-geun) held the CFE Global Working Group meeting on February 7, 2025, via videoconference. Participants included delegations from the Czech Republic, Japan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the International Energy Agency (IEA), and the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) Secretariat. Participants discussed the definition, standards, and technical criteria of carbon-free energy, as well as practical measures to widen global participation in the CFE Initiative, including the provision of incentives for participating businesses. MOTIE and the Carbon Free (CF) Alliance are leading the Carbon Free Energy (CFE) Initiative, which promotes the technology-neutral approach of utilizing various carbon-free energy sources such as renewables, nuclear energy, and clean hydrogen to facilitate industries’ cost-effective achievement of carbon neutrality. The CFE Initiative has won the support of a total of 13 countries, international organizations, and groups. During the meeting, CF Alliance Chairman Lee Hoe-sung stated that the CFE Global Working Group will lay the foundation for discourse regarding the definition and standards of carbon-free energy that can gain general acceptance in the international community. CEM Secretariat Head Jean-François Gagné welcomed the active discussions within the CFE Global Working Group, which currently functions as the CEM platform, and expressed hope that its work would help build a stronger cooperation base. Meanwhile, Korea, the Czech Republic, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to deepen discussions for an early establishment of CFE implementation standards, while also stepping up cooperation to make progress at the CEM Ministerial meeting slated for August 25, 2025. date2025-02-10

3rd Korea-Vietnam Plus Joint Working Group meeting

Director General for International Trade Relations Kim Jong-chul at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea and Vietnam’s Asia-Africa Market Director General Do Quoc Hung at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) headed their respective delegations in the third Korea-Vietnam Plus Joint Working Group meeting on February 7 via videoconferencing and discussed wider bilateral trade and investment, global oversupply, and nuclear cooperation. date2025-02-10

Korea-Vietnam Plus Joint Working Group Discusses Expanding Trade and Investment

Director General for International Trade Relations Kim Jong-chul at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE, Minister Ahn Duk-geun) and Do Quoc Hung, Director General of the Asia-Africa Market Department at Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT),  headed their respective delegations at the third Korea-Vietnam Plus Joint Working Group (“Working Group”) meeting held on February 7, 2025, via videoconference. The Working Group is a joint platform for bilateral consultations on expanding the Korea-Vietnam trade and investment, with the participation of government bodies, commercial attachés, and trade assistance institutions from both countries. It aims to achieve the bilateral trade target of USD 150 billion by 2030, jointly announced by the two countries’ leaders in 2022. The Working Group convened its first meeting in September 2023. At today’s meeting, the two sides reviewed the Korea-Vietnam trade and investment and exchanged views on major issues, including the global oversupply. They also discussed nuclear energy cooperation and measures to resolve challenges faced by businesses from both countries. Director General Kim highlighted the importance of expanding forward-looking economic cooperation with Vietnam, Korea’s third largest trading partner, and proposed that the two countries make joint effort towards broader trade and investment in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Korea-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Noting that Korea is Vietnam’s largest investor, Director General Do Quoc Hung expressed hope for the two countries’ mutual growth and ensured interest and support concerning the local business issues experienced by Korean companies in Vietnam. date2025-02-07

MOTIE holds K-Grid Export Alliance kickoff meeting

Deputy Minister for Energy Policy Lee Ho-hyeon at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea chaired the K-Grid Export Alliance kickoff meeting on February 4 at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) in Seoul to seek new opportunities for homegrown businesses in the global power infrastructure market and led discussions on the global grid market trends, forecast, and Korea’s strategic measures. The meeting was attended by representatives of 15 companies and institutions, including Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea Southern Power Co., Hyundai E&C, LS Electric, and KEA.   date2025-02-06

K-Grid Export Alliance Launches Full-Scale Efforts to Enter Global Power Grid Market

Deputy Minister for Energy Policy Lee Ho-hyeon at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) chaired the first general meeting of the K-Grid Export Alliance at the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) in Seoul on February 4, 2025. The meeting of the Alliance, which was launched in December 2024, focused on creating new opportunities for Korean businesses in the global power infrastructure market. Since announcing its strategy for the global power grid market in December 2024, MOTIE worked with export support institutions to concretize measures for boosting exports in 2025.  First, K-SURE will continue providing short-term preferential loans (up to double in limit) and insurance premium discounts (up to 20 percent) to transformer and power cable exporting businesses in 2025. It will also expand the range of relevant export items to include energy storage systems (ESS).  Moreover, MOTIE and the Korea Electric Association (KEA) will jointly coordinate overseas trade shows for power grids and related equipment, which were previously managed separately by different institutions. The new arrangement will produce more tangible outcomes by streamlining the process of company recruitment, promotion, and performance management. Today’s meeting was attended by representatives of 15 companies and institutions, including Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea Southern Power Co., Hyundai E&C, LS Electric, and KEA. Participants discussed export strategies in light of the emerging uncertainties as well as opportunities, such as the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and datacenters. They also explored business models capable of meeting the complex needs of local overseas markets based on Korean companies’ expertise in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) and manufacturing. Deputy Minister Lee stated that the global power grid market offers Korea’s power industry a vital opportunity for further growth, adding that public and private sectors will make joint effort to establish the industry as the country’s next new model for energy cooperation. date2025-02-04

Korea’s Free Trade Zone exports log record highs in 2024

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea announced today that annual exports from Korea’s Free Trade Zones (FTZs) in 2024 jumped 22.5 percent year-on-year to USD 14.9 billion, a historic high since the Masan FTZ designation in 1970, entering the $10 billion thresholds for the fourth consecutive year (2021–2024). In Korea, there are currently 13 areas designated and operating as FTZs, composed of seven industrial complex FTZs, one airport FTZ, and five port FTZs. By FTZ type, airport FTZ exports took the lead, taking up 85.2 percent of total FTZ exports in 2024 with $12.7 billion, followed by industrial complex FTZs ($2.1 billion) and port FTZs ($0.08 billion). Exports of industrial complex FTZs surpassed $2 billion for two straight years on the backs of strong global demand for Korean automobiles, ships, and related parts spurred by high value-added and green market trends. Airport FTZ exports soared 29.3 percent to $12.7 billion, thanks to the sharply climbing demand for high-performance semiconductors and high bandwidth memory chips as data processing capacity is emerging as a key element along with the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. By item, semiconductor exports took up 85.2 percent of entire FTZ exports, followed by electrical and electronic precision devices (6.4 percent) like car parts, mobile phone parts, and petrochemicals (1.9 percent) including petroleum resin. By region, China (64.3 percent) was the largest buyer of Korea’s FTZs in 2024, followed by other countries including Vietnam (8.8 percent), the U.S. (3.2 percent), and India (2.2 percent).   date2025-02-04

Trade Minister meets Japan's METI Vice Minister for International Affairs

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met Vice Minister for International Affairs Matsuo Takehiko at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on January 24 in Switzerland on the margins of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discussed bilateral cooperation in supply chains and digital. date2025-02-03

Trade Minister meets WTO Director General

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on January 24 in Switzerland on the margins of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discussed the WTO’s role amid the changing trade landscape and measures for cooperation regarding Korea’s APEC 2025 chairmanship. date2025-02-03

Trade Minister meets UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade

Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong met UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds on January 23 in Switzerland on the margins of the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos and discussed bilateral trade issues and economic cooperation. date2025-02-03