Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

MOTIE holds FEZ Future Strategy Forum

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held the Free Economic Zone (FEZ) Future Strategy Forum on January 31 at the Hotel Koreana in Seoul, where experts and personnel gathered to discuss Korea’s blueprint for FEZs’ future direction and growth.   The first FEZ to take root in Korea, the Incheon FEZ has developed into the nation’s major special economic zone over the last two decades, thanks to the various efforts of the Government, local government bodies and other experts, spawning eight more FEZs to date.   During the presentation session sharing the outcomes of each FEZ, the Ulsan FEZ shared success cases of having sealed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a public land reserve project with the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) in March, 2023, which can contribute to the timely supply of industrial land and reducing financial burden from rising land prices. Likewise, other FEZs also shared their experiences of having successfully attracted investment and corporate support among other cases of proactive work achievements.   In the following discussion session, experts presented their policy proposals and panel discussions were held on future project tasks for the third FEZ basic plan, foreign investment facilitation measures and schemes for nurturing an innovative ecosystem.   Kim Hong-joo, Head of the Free Economic Zone Planning Office, stated in the opening message that “amid unstable internal and external conditions, FEZs are called to offer new visions and strategies,” and added that “for the FEZs to grow into global, cutting-edge business hubs in step with local development, the Government and the FEZs will work together as one team to give full policy support for attracting investment and corporate support.” date2024-02-01

Korea becomes 9th country in the world to produce liquid hydrogen

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) held the completion ceremony for Korea’s first commercial-scale liquid hydrogen production plant on January 31 at Doosan Enerbility’s Changwon Plant. The Changwon Plant was established through a joint investment by Doosan Enerbility, Gyeongnam Province and Changwon, and is capable of supplying up to 1,825 metric tons every year to nearby research institutes, companies and hydrogen charging stations. Liquid hydrogen is gaining attention as a core means of accelerating the commercialization of fuel-cell electric vehicles and large-scale transport of hydrogen, thanks to its ten-fold transport efficiency. Considering the absence of safety standards due to unprecedented domestic use, the Government is providing active support through a regulatory sandbox by granting special exemption for demonstrations concerning the localization of materials and equipment parts as well as the establishment of a liquid hydrogen plant. Homegrown technology was incorporated in building the Changwon liquid hydrogen plant transport and storage facility, and a liquid hydrogen trailer developed by another domestic company will be co-operated with the plant. On the sidelines of the completion ceremony, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between local governments, companies and Government-funded institutions for the construction of a liquid hydrogen charging station, the utilization and supply of hydrogen buses, and supply and purchasing of liquid hydrogen. In his congratulatory message, Director General for Hydrogen Economy Policy Park Chan-ki stated that “with the completion of the Changwon liquid hydrogen plant, Korea is now the world’s ninth producer of hydrogen,” and added that “the Government will make effort to invigorate the liquid hydrogen ecosystem through localization of core technologies, modification of laws, regulatory improvement and diversification of demand.” date2024-01-31

Global semiconductor cooperation to continue strong in 2024

Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Kang Kyungsung attended the SEMICON Korea 2024 Industry Leadership Dinner on January 31 at Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas and held talks with Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) Chairman Ajit Manocha to discuss cooperation with Korean and overseas semiconductor companies.   Annually hosted by SEMI, SEMICON Korea is Korea’s largest semiconductor material and equipment exhibition, and its Industry Leadership Dinner is an event that gathers around 400 chip industry leaders from around the world.   Throughout 2023, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) has been strengthening its cooperation network with countries taking up core roles in the global semiconductor value chain via summit diplomacy to build up a semiconductor alliance. The alliance is a major project under the semiconductor mega cluster plan announced on January 15, and MOTIE intends to continue utilizing the alliance in 2024 to bolster efforts to stabilize the global chip value chain.   During his Industry Leadership Dinner congratulatory message and talks with Chairman Manocha, Vice Minister Kang stated that “this year, we are seeing the beginning of the end of the global chip industry’s downturn, with the global chip market projected to grow by over 14 percent year-on-year in 2024,” and highlighted that “the Korean Government is aiming to nurture a robust semiconductor ecosystem within the mega cluster that was announced on January 15 by establishing a cutting-edge testbed, providing 24 trillion won in policy funding over the next three years and stabilizing the supply chain via cooperation through the global chip solidarity.”   Meanwhile, MOTIE’s Semiconductor Division Director Lee Kyu-bong met with the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Director Rebecca Chapman on January 30 at the Government Complex Sejong to discuss measures for stronger cooperation based on the Korea-UK semiconductor cooperation framework, in tandem with the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology, Innovate UK and other related institutions. The two countries discussed mutually beneficial measures for cooperation in manpower training, technology development, supply chain and policies incorporating semiconductor industry trends. date2024-01-31

Korea's retail industry grows 6.3% in 2023

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on January 30 that Korea’s annual retail sales for 2023 advanced 6.3 percent year-on-year. All offline channels (up 3.7 percent), including hypermarkets, department stores, convenience stores and super supermarket (SSM) operators, showed growth in 2023. Online retail sales rose 9.0 percent amid widening age range of consumers. For the month of December, offline sales achieved a 4.5 percent growth year-on-year despite December 2 date2024-01-31

Korea aiming to enlarge future green mobility pie by removing "killer" regulations

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced the eco-friendly mobility regulatory innovation measures on January 30 at LG Science Park together with other relevant ministries and held a meeting to discuss the automotive industry’s major issues and strategic export measures. As technological breakthroughs like autonomous self-driving and AI, software and advanced automotive parts of future mobility are converging and the competition for global dominance is intensifying, the date2024-01-30

Korea and India hold 10th official negotiating round for upgrading bilateral CEPA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on January 30 that the 10th official negotiating round for upgrading the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is to be held through January 30-31 in New Delhi, India. Numbering 60 persons in total, the Korean and Indian delegations are led by Director General for FTA Policy Ahn Chang-yong and the Indian Commerce Department’s Additional Secretary Anant Swarup, respectively. The first official round to date2024-01-30

CF Alliance to push the use of all carbon-free energy sources for carbon neutrality

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on January 29 that Dr. Hoesung Lee, former Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and incumbent Carbon Free (CF) Alliance Chairman, led a press briefing and conference to introduce the outcomes gained from over the last three months since the launch of the CF Alliance in October last year, which include a score of bilateral and multilateral exchanges, as well as support towards the Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) Initia date2024-01-29

MOTIE and KPX lay out blueprint for Korea's electricity market

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) hosted a briefing session focusing on measures to improve Korea’s electricity market in 2024 on January 26 at COEX in Seoul, organized by Korea Power Exchange (KPX). The briefing was attended by approximately 150 persons from electric power industries, the academia and related institutions. The briefing aimed at covering the latest market trends, forecasting future changes, introducing improvement directions and other issues for the elect date2024-01-29