The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE; ) is a ministry under the

Government of South Korea The government of South Korea () is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and ...

. It is concerned with regulating

economic policy ''Economic Policy'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press, Oxford Academic on behalf of the Centre for Economic Policy Research, the Center for Economic Studies (University of Munich), and the Paris Scho ...

, especially with regard to the industrial and energy sectors. The ministry also works to encourage foreign investment in Korea. The current minister is

Ahn Duk-geun Ahn Duk-geun (; born 21 April 1968) is a South Korean economist serving as the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. He was a professor at the Korea Development Institute's Graduate School of Public Policy and Management. Career He earned a b ...

, the former Head of the Trade Negotiations Division (as a 1st Deputy Minister) in the Department from May 2022 to January 2024.

History

The ministry began in 1948 as the Ministry of Commerce during the First Republic. In 1993, it was merged with the Ministry of Energy, established in 1977. A year later the ministry changed its name to Ministry of Trade and Energy. In 1998, it transferred trade negotiation duties to the foreign ministry changing its name to Ministry of Industry and Energy. In 2008, it was restructured into Ministry of Knowledge Economy following newly elected president

Lee Myung-bak Lee Myung-bak (; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engi ...

's cabinet reorganization. In 2013, following President

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, she was removed from office in 2017. Park was the first and to date only woman ...

's cabinet reorganisation the ministry was restructured into the current form bringing back trade negotiation duties from the foreign ministry. In 2017, it delegated duties related to SMEs to newly created

Ministry of SMEs and Startups The Ministry of SMEs and Startups () is a government ministry of South Korea. It was established in July 2017 by the Moon Jae-in government. It succeeds the former Small and Medium Business Administration. Its headquarters are located in Sejong ...

under President

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...

. In 2018, it added the third vice ministerial role for energy policies in addition to existing trade minister and vice minister (now 1st vice minister).

Headquarters

The headquarters are located in the Sejong Regional Government Complex in

Sejong City Sejong or Sejong City (; ), officially Sejong Special Self-Governing City (), is a List of special cities of South Korea, special self-governing city and the ''de facto'' administrative capital of South Korea. Sejong was founded in 2007 as the ...

. The headquarters were formerly located in the Gwacheon Government Complex in

Gwacheon Gwacheon (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies close to Seoul in the heart of the Seoul National Capital Area, and also lies just east of Anyang, Gyeonggi, Anyang. Seoul Subway Line 4 pa ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

.Location
" () Ministry of Knowledge Economy. Retrieved on January 1, 2013. "Address Ministry of Knowledge Economy, 88, Gwanmoonro, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea"

Subsidiary sections

Subsidiary organisations of the MOTIE include: *Korean Agency for Technology and Standards *Korea Trade Commission (not to be confused with the country's anti-trust agency Fair Trade Commission) *Mine Registration Office *Electricity Regulatory Committee *Free Economic Zone Planning Office

Organization

List of ministers

List of Ministers from 1948 to the presen

Minister

* Policy Advisor to the Minister * Director General for Audit and Inspection

Spokesperson

Minister for Trade

* Deputy Minister for Trade

Bureau of Trade Policy

Bureau of Trade Cooperation

Office of FTA Negotiations

* Director General for FTA Policy * Director General for FTA Negotiations * East Asia FTA Bureau

Office of International Trade and Legal Affairs

* Director General for International Trade Affairs * Director General for Trade Legal Affairs and Public Relations

Office of International Trade and Investment

* Director General for International Trade Policy * Director General for Cross-Border Investment Policy * Director General for Domestic Policy on Trade * Director General for Trade Controls Policy

1st Vice Minister

Office of Planning and Coordination

* Director General for Policy Coordination * Director General for Emergency and Security Planning

Office of Industrial Policy

* Director General for Industrial Policy * Director General for Materials and Components Industries * Director General for Manufacturing Industry

Office of Industry and Enterprise Innovation

* Director General for Industrial Technology Convergence Policy * Director General for Regional Economic Policy * Director General for Middle Market Enterprise Policy

2nd Vice Minister

Office of Energy Industry

* Director General for Energy Transition Policy Policy * Director General for Electricity Innovation Policy * Director General for Renewable Energy Policy * Director General for Hydrogen Economy Policy

Bureau of Resource Industry Policy

Bureau of Nuclear Energy Industry Policy

References

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Ministries established in 1948 1948 establishments in South Korea