Abstract
The present status of the mold industry, including the size of the mold industry in Korea, its position in the global market, the production of the mold industry, import and export, and recent trends in the mold industry were examined. The survey was implemented for the trends fo dies and molds industry in 2017 by answers on business environment for Korean Mold Industry Cooperative Union members. The sharp decline in plastic mold exports in 2015 led to a decline in overall exports. China and Japan account for a very large share of mold exporting countries, but exports to emerging markets such as India, Mexico and Vietnam contributed to the overall increase in mold exports. China, Japan, India, the United States and Mexico were named as exporting countries with more than US $ 200 million, and Vietnam showed similar tendency as a major exporter. A survey conducted by the Korea Mold Industry Cooperative Association showed that the decrease in production and exports was predicted. In order to overcome the difficulties of the mold industry, the need for research on the linkage of the mold industry and technology to the wave of the fourth industrial revolution has increased.