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Trade News
S.KOREAN,U.S.
FINANCIAL CHIEFS
DISCUSS NORTH
KOREA,FTA
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On Oct. 14, the top financial policymakers of South Korea and the United
States met on the sidelines of the Group
of 20 Finance Ministers Meeting in
Washington D.C.
Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed pending issues including North
Korea, the bilateral free trade agreement
(FTA) and the U.S. report on currency
manipulation, according to Seoul officials.
They expressed concerns over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile
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provocations and agreed to enhance policy coordination to cope with risks related to
North Korea.
They also exchanged views on the
ongoing talks to revise the terms of the
Korea-U.S. FTA. Earlier this month,
Seoul and Washington agreed to begin
the process of amending the FTA at
Washington's request.
In their third meeting, Kim also
stressed that South Korea does not intervene in foreign exchange markets.
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SEAFOOD EXPORTS UP
10.9 PERCENT IN FIRST
THREE QUARTERS OF
2017
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Exports of South Korean seafood rose
10.9 percent in the first nine months of
2017 from a year earlier on strong demand
for dried laver and tuna.
The country's outbound shipments of
fish, shellfish and seaweed were valued at
USD 1.74 billion during the January-
September period, up from USD 1.56 billion tallied a year ago, according to the
Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
Seafood sales to Japan, the country's
largest seafood market, went up 10.2 percent on-year to USD 590 million in
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the nine month period, led by strong sales of dried laver,
tuna and oysters.
China imported USD 290 million worth
of South Korean seafood over the period,
down 0.2 percent. Despite strong sales of
Korean dried laver and cod, exports of
squid and fish cake declined in the nation.
Exports of dried laver, in particular,
skyrocketed 50.3 percent to USD 410 million in the first three quarters as China and
Japan had a sluggish harvest and prices
went up this year, the ministry said.
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Government & Policy
MOON CALLS FOR
EXPORT-ORIENTED
ARMS DEVELOPMENT,
ENHANCED DEFENSE
CAPABILITIES
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President Moon Jae-in called for a transformation of South Korea's defense industry to boost its exports, as well as for
efforts to develop advanced systems to
enhance the country's independent defense
capabilities.
"We must widen our view to the world
and form joint communities for defense
cooperation with friendly nations," the
president said in congratulatory remarks
marking the start of the Seoul
International Aerospace and Defense
Exhibition (ADEX) on Oct. 17.
"The government will further strengthen
its diplomatic efforts to help boost exports
by the defense
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industry. I believe our government's efforts will contribute to global peace while also strengthening the defense
capabilities of friendly nations," Moon
said.
The president also underscored the
country's need to advance its defense systems.
"Currently, we need the power to make
peace more than ever. To this end, we
urgently need to secure enhanced capabilities for our own aerospace and defense
industries," he said.
Moon said efforts to enhance the competitiveness of the defense industry will
also help improve the livelihood of the
people.
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S.KOREA TO
COMPLETE ENERGY
TRANSFORMATION
ROAD MAP THIS YEAR
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On Oct. 12, government officials
announced that South Korea will complete
an energy road map that shifts its reliance
from coal and nuclear power toward natural gas and renewable energy to put more
focus on public safety and technology
innovation.
"We will change the energy paradigm
toward safe and clean future energy,
reflecting global trends and public
demand," Paik Un-gyu, minister of trade,
industry and energy, said during a parliamentary audit. "We will gradually phase out the nuclear
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reactors and make coal-fired thermal power plants more ecofriendly."
South Korea operates 24 nuclear reactors that generate about 30 percent of its
electricity, while coal and renewable energy provide 37.5 percent and 6.7 percent,
respectively, according to the ministry.
The ministry said the energy road map
will raise the ratio of renewable energy to
20 percent by 2030 by increasing investment in research and development, and
supporting related industries.