Meeting between Sangui, Overseas Diplomatic Chiefs, and Businesspeople "Supporting Corporate Overseas Expansion"

Over 150 Individual Consultations Conducted... High Demand for Consultations from Exporters in Bio, Healthcare, and Quarantine Supplies Sectors

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, making overseas visits difficult, ambassadors and consuls general at overseas diplomatic missions held non-face-to-face consultations with businesspeople to support domestic companies' overseas expansion.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) announced that, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it held the '2020 Overseas Diplomatic Mission Heads-Businesspeople 1:1 Consultation Meeting' on the 1st at Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul.

Now in its 11th year, this event was conducted by connecting 47 overseas diplomatic missions with high consultation demand and Korean companies via online video conferencing, as visits by overseas mission heads to Korea were difficult due to COVID-19.

Among domestic companies, 100 companies participated, including large corporations such as SK Plasma, Hyundai Rotem, GS Construction, Hyundai Engineering, POSCO International, and mid-sized and small companies such as Samyangsa, Hancom Group, ADT, and PCL.

From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs side, 47 overseas mission heads including Ambassador Park Nowan to Vietnam, Ambassador Lee Seokbae to Russia, Ambassador Shin Bonggil to India, Ambassador Cho Hyunok to Germany, and Ambassador Cho Byungwook to Saudi Arabia conducted about 150 individual consultations with Korean companies regarding local market conditions, overseas expansion environment, and COVID-19 related status in their host countries.

By company size, mid-sized and small companies accounted for 85.2%, and large corporations 10.5%. The KCCI explained that the increased proportion of mid-sized and small companies compared to previous years reflects the reality that it is difficult for these companies to obtain overseas market information.

By industry, 'Trade' (23.4%) was the largest, followed by 'Bio, Healthcare, COVID-19 related quarantine supplies' (13.9%), 'Construction' (9.5%), 'Food and Beverage, Miscellaneous Goods' (9.5%), 'IT, Telecommunications, Electronics' (8.0%), 'Automobiles and Parts' (5.8%), and 'General Machinery' (3.6%).

The consultation requests from companies were mostly for 'Transaction mediation and order support' at 43.6%, followed by 'Information provision requests' (23.9%), 'Business explanation and promotion' (17.2%), and 'Resolution of corporate difficulties' (14.1%).

A company representative who attended the consultation said, "During a time when overseas business trips are difficult due to COVID-19, there are limits to the information that can be researched domestically. Through consultations with overseas mission heads, we not only received the latest information on entry and exit procedures and required durations for each country, but also guidance on products that meet local demand and advice on our company’s products, which was very helpful."

A KCCI official emphasized, "As K-Quarantine has attracted worldwide attention with our government and companies joining forces to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, we hope that Korean companies will become even more active in overseas expansion in related fields."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.