The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced on the 10th that it has launched the 'Trade Structure Innovation Task Force' to support the promise of the Lee Jae-myung administration for 'preparing for the era of $1 trillion in exports' and has held its first meeting.
Earlier, President Lee Jae-myung emphasized the need to strategically respond to the rapidly changing trade environment and innovate the trade structure to prepare for the $1 trillion in exports era. Last year, Korea's export amount reached a record high of $683.8 billion.
Kang Kyung-sung, president of KOTRA, who leads the task force, identified the strategic tasks to focus on as ▲diversifying export markets and items ▲developing small and medium-sized corporations into export corporations ▲responding to environmental trade barriers ▲stabilizing supply chains. He then ordered the entirety of KOTRA's domestic and overseas organizations and capabilities, including 131 overseas trade offices, to be rallied.
The diversification of export markets and items will focus on solidifying K-culture, digital services, defense industry, shipbuilding, and artificial intelligence as leading export industries, as well as exploring new markets such as the Global South. In particular, efforts will be intensively supported to expand cultural and service exports that are less affected by tariff wars.
President Kang said, 'The rapid changes in the global trade environment are both a crisis and an opportunity, and rapid trade structure innovation is urgently needed.' He added, 'KOTRA will make every effort to achieve the new government's trade investment promises, including the $1 trillion in exports.'