Launching of STIC
- MOCIE Minister Lee stresses importance of controlling strategic material

With the end of the cold war in 1991, terrorist attacks have been threatening the world, which is the reason for upgrading the international export control regime for the sake of international security.
The regime provides for every country in the world to cooperate together to prevent an excessive stockpile of the weapons of mass destruction and other destructive weapons that can threaten the regional stability by regulating the export of strategic material.
With this in mind, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy launched on Feb.17 the Strategic Material Export-Import Management Information System at the auditorium of the Korea International Trade Center with a number of dignitaries attending among hundreds of those representing trading firms headed by MOCIE Minister Lee Hee-beom. Dignitaries included Vice Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, Lee Seok-young, KTNET CEO-President Ryu Chang-moo and LG CNS President Chung Byung-chol.
Minister Lee said Korean trading companies should also follow the international effort to curtail the movement of strategic material for peace and security of the world. Our economy ranks the 10th largest in scale with exports coming to 9th largest in the world, excluding transit exports as a strong industrial and trading country.
MOCIE, the minister said, has been doing every thing it could to support the regime and thus launched the system in order that it may help the trading firms to lend their hands to the international effort as easily as possible.
What the MOCIE has done is to extend support to individual trading firms in handling strategic material in the process of their international shipment under rules and regulations of the STIC with Korea being an important trading nation in the world.
Thus far, no trading firms obtained prior permits in exporting strategic material, but they will be excused for their past violations provided that they will submit their admissions of violations and implementation plans under the system, the minister said.
In the first half of this year, the government will give time to trading firms to familiarize themselves with the way to go about upholding the system until it is settled down and take root in the trading community. Minister Lee hoped that every trading firm would try their best to set up and strengthen the system to manage strategic material and faithfully follow the rules and regulations to uphold it.
He went on to remind every one that Korea is in the middle of trying to become an advanced trading country, requiring every one to do their best to that end. This is not something that can be earned instantly, but we all have to try hard to make it possible by knowing the international flow of trends and brave through the high waves, the minister said.
Shim Sung-kun, head of the Strategic Material Management Section of MOCIE, said Korean companies are not yet fully aware of strengthened export control abroad and the strategic material trading system, which is based on the UN Security Council Resolution No. 1540 on the spread of related material to the weapons of mass destruction. He said the materials on the list are so vast that Korean firms have been unable to identify their products on the list.
The official went on to say that MOCIE has been working to set up a system suitable to Korean firms since May, 2003 and the opening of the service is owed to LG CNS and others. LG CNS had a hand in putting up an online system to facilitate such matters as the issuance of permits and judgment on strategic material in accordance with the international export control system. Any inquiries on strategic materials can be made by clicking on www.sec.go.kr.
In order to fight the spread of weapons of mass destruction and terrorist acts, the frame work of the International Export Control Regime has been streamlined. Each trading country in the world strengthened its control on exports of strategic material so that the international shipment of weapons of mass destruction will be curtailed and the excess stockpile of general weapons will be reduced for the sake of regional stability. They have been working on controlling exports of ABCM, Catch-All and self-control by trading firms to reduce dangers.
Strategic material includes all kinds of weapons, the manufacturing facilities of weapons, civilian products and technologies that can be developed to produce weapons of mass destruction. This is because when they get into the hands of rogue states and terrorists, they could disrupt international peace. They also include not only the products, but also design, manufacturing facilities, equipment, technology, and programs.
"Non-proliferation type Export Control" is designed to control shipment of general weapons and weapons of mass destruction to regions in turmoil and also prevent the production of weapons in the regions. nw