Completion of Rotarex Asan Plant... Strengthening Korea-Luxembourg Cooperation

Etienne Schneider, former Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Luxembourg (center), Carlo Thelen, former Secretary General of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (left), and Kim Jundong, former Executive Vice President of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, are posing for a commemorative photo at the Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister's visit economic seminar held on July 16, 2019, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] Luxembourg industrial valve company Rotarex has established a production base in Asan, Chungnam. Korea and Luxembourg have agreed to strengthen supply chain cooperation on the occasion of the completion of the Rotarex Asan plant.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that Moon Dong-min, Director of the Trade and Investment Office of the Ministry, attended the completion ceremony of the Rotarex Asan plant held in Cheonan Asan on the 29th. Rotarex is the world's leading company in industrial gas valves. Rotarex's Asan plant is located in the Asan Tangjeong Foreign Investment Zone supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Rotarex plans to supply ultra-high purity gas valves for semiconductors made at the Asan plant to domestic semiconductor companies.

On the same day, Director Moon met with Franz Fayot, Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, to discuss expanding bilateral trade and investment and supply chain cooperation. The two countries agreed to first strengthen supply chain cooperation through the Critical Minerals Security Partnership. The Critical Minerals Security Partnership is a critical minerals cooperation body launched in June this year, led by the United States. Korea, the European Union (EU), Japan, Australia, and others participated as founding members. Minister Fayot reportedly showed particular interest in Korea's supply chain management system.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy emphasized tax support for additional investments from Luxembourg. Director Moon said, "Korea is an open trading country with strong manufacturing competitiveness," adding, "We will provide the highest level of investment environment through bold tax support and regulatory innovation for foreign direct investment."

Meanwhile, the trade volume between Korea and Luxembourg has steadily increased every year. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea-Luxembourg trade volume increased by 50.7% from $93.9 million in 2020 to $141.5 million last year. Korea and Luxembourg also share the commonality of high trade dependence. The export-import ratio to GDP for Korea and Luxembourg was 60% and 158%, respectively, as of 2020.