Industry ministry holds WTO moot court competition

The industry ministry said Thursday it held its 17th annual WTO moot court competition to help develop future trade specialists, drawing 76 undergraduate and graduate students from 21 teams at 15 universities nationwide.

The ministry has held the competition annually since 2010 to cultivate trade specialists and increase public interest in international trade rules. It co-hosted this year's event with the Korean International Economic Law Association, while the University of Seoul supported the competition at its law school. About 70 people attended, including finalists and a panel of trade-law experts.

This year's case examined whether industrial policies of a fictional country involving electric-vehicle charging infrastructure and critical minerals complied with trade law. Participants also considered issues involving environmentally friendly industrial policy, supply-chain stability, government procurement and economic integration agreements through the lens of WTO rules.

After a written review, eight teams reached the finals. They took the roles of complainants and respondents and delivered oral arguments before the expert panel, analyzing the facts and WTO agreement issues while rebutting opposing arguments.

ANTI-DUMPLINGS won the industry minister's grand prize. Bona Fide, a joint team from Yonsei University and Chonnam National University, received the top excellence award from the Korean International Economic Law Association. Bisang of the University of Seoul and Tomato Trade of Korea University shared excellence awards, while the other teams reaching the eight-team finals received encouragement awards.

"As protectionism spreads and the trade environment becomes more complex, international trade rules become a common standard governing competition among countries, and rules-based dispute resolution becomes more important," Kwon Hye-jin, head of the ministry's trade negotiations office, said.

"Through this competition, we hope young people will develop the ability to understand the rules accurately and read industrial and policy realities, growing into specialists who can protect South Korea's national and corporate interests in trade," she added.