According to Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), the country's finished steel output would rise slightly by 3.8% year on year to reach around 71.62 million tons this year, boosted by positive effective of economic recovery in the developed countries. MOTIE indicated that weaker demand for the Korean steel products due to oversupply in global market, slower recovery among the domestic and overseas end-user sectors, and the restrictions on the Korean steel exports. It's learned that around 16 countries were investigation 49 trade cases relating to the Korean steel products as of the end of last December, according to the MOTIE. However, the MOTIE said that the Free Trade Agreement between Korea and China is expected to help the Korean steelmakers to expand sales in China.