Minister of SMEs and Startups Oh Young-Ju met with the startup winners of the CES 2034 Innovation Awards on Jan. 18 for a discussion.The meeting, held at the Seoul Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, aimed to encourage the representatives of the winning ventures and startups and to listen to t
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on Jan. 18 that Deputy Trade Minister Yang Byung-nae met with a delegation of companies, including Solid Power Chief Operating Officer Derek Johnson, who visited the ministry to discuss cooperation in the field of next-generation batteries
Hwang Joo-ho, the CEO of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), has been engaging in activities to secure the Dukovany new nuclear power plant project in the Czech Republic for two days from Jan. 16.On Jan. 17, CEO Hwang visited the Czech Power Company (CEZ) and the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade
South Korean ramen exports nearly reached US$1 billion last year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Jan. 17, ramen exports stood at US$952.4 million last year and marked a whopping increase of 24.4 percent compared to the previous year. Ramen exports have been consi
Korea’s automobile exports hit a record high of USUS$70.9 billion in 2023.Korea’s automobile exports increased 31.1 percent year on year to US$70.9 billion last year, according to 2023 annual automotive industry data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) on Jan. 16. This sur
The government has recently come up with a new plan for the promotion of the robot industry, aiming to invest over 3 trillion won (US$2.24 billion) in the public and private sectors by 2030 to deploy one million robots across various industrial and societal sectors.The Ministry of Trade, Industry, a
Samsung Electronics and SK hynix will build the world’s largest and best semiconductor mega cluster in the southern part of Gyeonggi Province with a total investment of 622 trillion won. The Korean government will support this project by creating infrastructure and an investment environment, strengt
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in South Korea announced the launch of the Asia-Pacific Food Regulatory Authority Summit (APFRAS) Secretariat on Jan. 15 to support the activities of the international cooperative body aimed at leading food sector international cooperation and regulatory harmoniz
The number of technical regulations notified by World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries in 2023 exceeded 4,000 for the first time ever, a record high, showing that technical barriers to trade were rising among countries.The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Tra
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on Jan. 9 that they will take follow-up measures to establish the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) in earnest, as three bills related to the agency passed a plenary session at the National Assembly.In November
On Jan. 10, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) announced the results of its Venture Enterprise Detailed Survey, analyzing the management performance, employment, and research and development (R&D) of venture companies as of the end of 2022.According to the MSS, the average revenue of venture co
Hanmi Pharmaceutical has received additional approval for the therapeutic use of the anti-cancer drug candidate Belvarafenib, which was technologically transferred to global pharmaceutical company Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (RHO).According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on Jan.
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction (E&C) announced that it has won the final order for the construction and operation of solar power generation facilities and energy storage system (ESS) facilities in Haiti ordered by Haiti’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).The project is to build and operat
With the re-addition of Guatemala, the only Central American country that had previously withdrawn from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with South Korea and Central American nations, the FTA has reached its final completion.The Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) announced that it formall
In 2023, overseas construction orders totaled US$33.31 billion, exceeding US$30 billion for the fourth consecutive year. However, it is just short of the target of US$35 billion.According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) on Jan. 8, 321 Korean overseas construction compa
Starting from the second half of this year, South Korean companies will have the option to settle export and import payments in Korean won when engaging in trade transactions with certain countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This move is expected to allow businesses to
The government’s new entrusted operating funds for the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), the sovereign wealth fund, have effectively ceased from 2022 until last year. Some argue that the KIC faces concerns about its international competitiveness. In a landscape where competing sovereign wealth fun
In 2023, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Korea exceeded US$32.7 billion, a record high. High-tech materials, parts, and equipment such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and biotech items led the increase in FDI in Korea.According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Jan. 4, FDI
The government has announced its intention to reduce the ratio of household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) to below 100 percent by the year 2027.On Jan. 4, the government released the “2024 Economic Policy Direction,” outlining its strategy for managing household debt.According to the Bank for
Following the United States, South Korea has also issued a voluntary corrective action (recall) for all Tesla vehicles equipped with the Autopilot autonomous driving assistance feature.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea announced on Jan. 4 that they are recalling a tot