• Trade News
  
  S.KOREAN EXPORTS TO
  VIETNAM SURGE
  NEARLY 50 PCT
  IN 2017
•    South Korea's exports to Vietnam surged nearly 50 percent in the first seven months of 2017, an increase that is likely to put the Southeast Asian country among the top three shipment destinations for locally made goods.
     According to Korea Customs Service, exports to Vietnam for the January-July period totaled USD 26.95 billion, up a sharp 49.8 percent from the same period a year ago and roughly three-times higher than the 16.3 percent increase for South Korean exports
• as a whole.
     Growing industrial demands in Vietnam and the implementation of a free trade agreement between the two countries also helped to push South Korea's exports to the country.
     Vietnam has been steadily climbing up the ladder of South Korea's export destinations, up from 21st place in 2000 to 13th in 2007 and to fourth in 2015. It presently replaced Hong Kong this year to make the top three.

• S.KOREA'S AUTO
  EXPORTS UP
  IN JULY
•    South Korea's auto exports continued to grow for six months in a row in July on rising demand from North America and Europe. The total value of vehicles shipped overseas reached USD 3.65 billion last month, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
     The figure has remained in positive terrain since February when it rebounded to a 5.3-percent rise from a 4.8-percent fall in the previous month.
     Total vehicles shipped abroad also climbed 5.1 percent on-year to 228,229
• units in July, turning around from a 0.6 percent drop in the previous month.
     Some USD 1.5 billion worth of Korean vehicles were sold in North America in July, up 4.1 percent from a year earlier, while shipments to the European Union surged 26.3 percent onyear to USD 653 million.
     Meanwhile, total output by five local automobile companies, including industry leader Hyundai Motor Co., gained 3.1 percent on-year to 371,343 units last month fueled by increase in local sales.

• Government & Policy
  
  S.KOREAN GOVERN-
  MENT TO ACTIVELY
  HELP STARTUPS
•    On August 15, South Korea's government announced that it will provide KRW 100 billion (USD 87.6 million) in special credit guarantees to young entrepreneurs that are setting up new companies and hiring workers.
     The plan made possible by the passage of the extra budget through parliament last month, is being pushed forward by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and aims to create good jobs by launching competitive venture businesses.
     The ministry said business owners who are 39 years old and younger, and
• have hired workers within the last six months are eligible for the credit guarantee. Those that have launched a business within five years can also avail themselves to the program.
     The system offers a good guarantee rate of 95 percent, which is 10 percentage points higher than conventional credit arrangements, with users being able to gain access to upwards to KRW 50 million (USD 44,050) worth of funds for use. Loans taken out with the guarantee are subject to favorable interest rates that are lower than the market norm.

• S.KOREA'S R&D POLICY
  TO FOCUS ON
  LONG-TERM VISION
•    South Korea is seeking to focus on a long-term vision that can raise the overall competitiveness of the country as it utilizes its research and development (R&D) budget.
     In accordance with the goal, the Ministry of Science and ICT will now have the right to conduct a prefeasibility study related to the R&D budget, and be less dependent on the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Also, both ministries will now have the right to decide the spending limit of the budget they control.
     The ICT ministry said it will map out detailed plans to create new jobs to capitalize on the changes as the world is transformed by the Fourth Indust-
• rial Revolution.
     The Moon administration has been advancing various projects to deal with the latest revolutionary changes that are characterized by a fusion of cutting-edge technologies, such as big data and the Internet of Things (IoT). The government hopes that innovative ideas will become actual businesses through science and technology, while generating new opportunities by converging different industries.
     The ministry said technologies, such as IoT and AI, are forecast to generate business opportunities and profits worth KRW 560 trillion (USD 484 billion) by 2030.