Trade Commission Organization Amendment Approved at Cabinet Meeting
Largest Scale Since Its Establishment: 6 Divisions and 59 Members
The government is expanding the scale of the Trade Commission to the largest level since its establishment and significantly strengthening the trade defense system against unfair trade practices such as dumping and intellectual property rights infringement.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that the "Partial Amendment Ordinance on the Organization of the Trade Commission," which expands the Trade Commission from the existing 4 divisions and 43 members to 6 divisions and 59 members, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 11th.
Specifically, within the Trade Commission, the new 'Dumping Investigation Support Division' and 'Adjudication Support Division' have been established, 16 additional specialized investigation personnel have been deployed, and the work of the existing 4-division system has been subdivided.
This is to prepare for the rapidly increasing demand for investigations into unfair trade practices such as dumping and intellectual property rights infringement. In fact, the number of dumping investigation applications increased from 6 cases in 2021 to 10 cases in 2024, and the related domestic market size surged from 150 billion KRW in 2021 to 2.92 trillion KRW in 2024.
The newly established Dumping Investigation Support Division will be responsible for dumping and circumvention dumping investigations in sectors such as petrochemicals, textiles, wood, and renewable energy facilities, while the Adjudication Support Division will handle follow-up measures after adjudication and respond to administrative lawsuits. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to rapidly strengthen its response capabilities by hiring private experts in international law, accounting, and patents, which require high expertise, within three months.
Meanwhile, as the second Trump administration in the U.S. has begun to implement protectionist policies in earnest, the need for the Korean government to prepare multifaceted response strategies such as WTO (World Trade Organization) complaints, renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. FTA, and strengthened lobbying in the U.S. has increased.
In particular, the Trump administration has decided to impose additional tariffs (25%) on steel and aluminum. This tariff measure targets key export items of Korea’s main industries such as steel, automobiles, semiconductors, and batteries, raising concerns that companies need to respond urgently. Accordingly, the government is expected to closely cooperate with affected companies to devise countermeasures and explore negotiation possibilities through consultations with the U.S. administration and Congress.
Strengthening lobbying efforts to actively convey the positions of Korean companies to major industry and policy decision-makers in the U.S. is also expected to be an important strategy. To this end, cooperation with related organizations such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, KOTRA, and the Korea International Trade Association is likely to be promoted to strengthen solidarity with major U.S. companies and trade-related organizations.
Jung In-kyo, head of the Trade Negotiations Office, is also planning to visit the U.S. soon to discuss economic cooperation measures such as shipbuilding cooperation and energy imports, and to directly consult with U.S. government and congressional officials to alleviate trade risks faced by Korean companies.
A government official said, "Since the protectionist stance of the second Trump administration is likely to develop more aggressively than expected, we will mobilize all diplomatic and trade channels to minimize the damage to Korean companies."
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