SME Overseas Market Expansion Must Be Pioneered Through 'Ontact'

Kim Yong-sang, Head of International Distribution Center at Seoul Business Agency, Leads 400 SME Export Consultation Events
Preparing for Post-COVID Era with Overseas Buyer Video Consultations and SNS Promotion

Yongsang Kim, Director of International Distribution Center (Head of Marketing Support Division), Seoul Business Agency

The 'Seoul Award Global Sourcing Fair' held on the 25th and 26th of last month at Seoul Dragon City in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, was a scene filled with both energy and tension. Over two days, 400 Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participated, conducting export consultations online and offline with about 170 buyers from 16 countries including China, Japan, France, Indonesia, and Spain. However, the event took place amid heightened concerns over the resurgence of COVID-19. The number of participants in each indoor space was strictly limited, and transparent partitions were installed at every consultation table. Mask-wearing was mandatory, and frequent disinfection was carried out by a professional quarantine team.

The successfully concluded event reflected the current status of Korean SMEs, which must strive to open overseas markets despite the economic contraction caused by COVID-19. The hybrid event format combining online and offline was also praised for indicating the path SMEs should take to secure sales channels in the post-COVID era. We spoke with Kim Yong-sang, Director of the International Distribution Center (Marketing Support Headquarters) at the Seoul Business Agency, who led this year’s 'Seoul Award Global Sourcing Fair,' about strategies for expanding SME sales channels in the COVID era.

On the 10th, Director Kim told Asia Economy in an interview, "Although we prepared from the beginning of the year, the COVID situation did not improve, so we switched the event to online midway and invited buyers residing in Korea, among other measures." He added, "In a situation where the economy is shrinking due to COVID-19, we judged that we could not eliminate even the opportunity to meet buyers, so we conducted the event while strictly adhering to quarantine rules." Some companies achieved meaningful results at this year’s event, such as signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on-site and preparing contracts. Many SMEs are seeking opportunities despite the crisis caused by COVID-19.

To support such SMEs, the International Distribution Center of the Seoul Business Agency has consistently focused on the keyword 'online' this year. Director Kim said, "Companies need to meet overseas buyers and secure contracts, but this year, it has been difficult to attend overseas exhibitions or invite buyers to Korea." He continued, "The International Distribution Center has created a permanent online consultation space called 'TradeOn,' enabling 24/7 video consultations with overseas buyers."

The International Distribution Center’s efforts to expand online sales channels for SMEs have been ongoing independently of COVID-19. Established in 2016 in Deungchon-dong, Seoul, to pioneer sales channels for excellent SME products, the center has secured data on over 22,000 excellent products from about 3,000 SMEs selected through the 'Seoul Award' as of November this year, supporting online promotion and distribution in various ways. Director Kim explained, "We select excellent Seoul Award products and produce various promotional videos to publicize them through social media. For example, the Facebook channel 'Honey Items I Want to Keep Secret' has 320,000 followers, and Weibo has 1.8 million followers." Collaborating with private specialized companies, the center supports live commerce sales channels for Seoul Award companies and established the 'S-Live' filming studio this year as a representative policy to strengthen online sales channels.

Director Kim expects that through this process preparing for the post-COVID era, the International Distribution Center’s goal of creating an ecosystem where excellent SMEs and distributors are naturally connected for product sourcing will become more concrete. He emphasized, "Next year, within the infrastructure of the International Distribution Center?including S-Live, TradeOn, and the Seoul Award Gallery?we will firmly prepare so that SME products and distributors can connect more closely and build a sustainable business ecosystem."

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