"Korea Trade, Going Further Together"... The 57th 'Trade Day' Commemoration Ceremony Held

Driving Economic Recovery Through Export Rebound
Reaffirming the Status as an Export Powerhouse Amid the COVID-19 Crisis

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea International Trade Association held the '57th Trade Day Ceremony' on the 8th from 10 a.m. at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, with about 40 attendees including trade promotion contributors and heads of economic organizations.

This year's ceremony was organized to encourage the efforts of traders who overcame the global economic crisis with indomitable will and to celebrate export achievements. Considering the COVID-19 situation, the number of attendees was significantly reduced.

At this ceremony, the vision of 'Together, Further' was presented, meaning that small and medium-sized enterprises play a central role in export recovery and economic rebound, and aim to lead global trade with diversification of export items and markets for a new leap forward.

With President Moon Jae-in in attendance, the ceremony began with the opening declaration by the captain of the HMM Algeciras, followed by the screening of a theme video, awards for contributors, the president's personal presentation of the Export Tower awards, and the president's congratulatory speech. The ceremony concluded with the closing declaration by the captain of a Korean Air cargo plane.

The opening declaration featured the HMM Algeciras, the world's largest container ship (24,000 TEU class) built domestically this year, appearing in the opening video. The closing declaration was made by Captain Kang Dae-gu of Korean Air cargo flight KE037, a converted passenger plane carrying a total of 28 tons of cargo departing from Incheon Airport at 10:40 a.m. on the day of the event, bound for Chicago, USA.

The Korea International Trade Association awarded 599 trade contributors to encourage those who contributed to export recovery this year and presented the Export Tower awards to 1,505 exporting companies. The president personally presented awards to 10 government award recipients who contributed to ▲overcoming trade crises (main items) ▲securing new export growth engines ▲K-quarantine/parts and materials ▲trade structure innovation (new market development, service items), and to 10 companies receiving the Export Tower awards.

The highest honor, the Gold Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit, was awarded to two representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises, two representatives of mid-sized enterprises, and one representative of a large enterprise who showed outstanding achievements in increasing exports, creating jobs, social contribution, and contributing to the lives of the people.

In addition, 594 trade contributors who contributed to trade development received orders, medals, and commendations from the president, prime minister, and minister of industry. The 'Export Tower,' which has been awarded since 1973, was given to a total of 1,505 companies this year, including 1,410 small and medium-sized enterprises (94%), 67 mid-sized enterprises (4%), and 28 large enterprises (2%). The highest value Export Tower was the '3 Billion Dollar Tower,' awarded to Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. Thirty-six companies, including Techcross Co., Ltd. (100 million dollars, shipbuilding equipment), received the '100 Million Dollar Tower' or higher.

In particular, the number of companies receiving the '1 Million Dollar Tower,' which corresponds to the 'first step in export,' increased significantly compared to last year, confirming that small and medium-sized enterprises are emerging as new export companies and expanding the base of Korean trade exports.

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