Martial Arts and Trade Field Advisory Committee Meeting Held: "Striving to Revitalize Export Momentum"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Trade field advisory committee members of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), who are supporting export companies nationwide, gathered in one place on the 5th and decided to actively promote the overseas market entry of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and resolve trade difficulties.

On this day, KITA Chairman Koo Ja-yeol held a meeting with the trade field advisory committee members at the Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Seoul, urging the members to become problem solvers for SME exports and trade difficulties. The meeting was attended by Chairman Koo and 14 regional representative advisory committee members, who shared successful export support experiences and cases of resolving on-site difficulties.

Chairman Koo said, "Since COVID-19, the global economy is accelerating its transition to the digital era and changes in the global value chain," adding, "At this turning point, the role of advisory committee members active on the export frontlines is crucial for our companies to succeed in technological innovation and paradigm shifts." He continued, "Please leverage the export know-how and overseas marketing experience accumulated over decades in trade fields worldwide to help revitalize our companies' exports."

Currently, KITA’s trade field advisory committee consists of 70 members who directly visit SMEs across the country to provide in-depth consulting throughout the entire export process, including discovering overseas buyers, overseas marketing, export-import operations, management and risk control, and resolving trade difficulties. These members are trade experts with 20 to 30 years of practical experience in various industries such as electrical and electronics, machinery, chemicals and steel, and consumer goods.

Last year, they met approximately 15,000 export companies through direct visits and video consultations. In particular, they provided focused consulting to 1,000 SMEs with no export experience or in the early stages of exporting. The number of companies that succeeded in their first export with the help of advisory committee members reached 462 last year and is increasing annually.

At the meeting, a case was introduced where a succulent plant farm, which had only sold domestically, succeeded in exporting about $30,000 to Japan last year with the help of a trade field advisory committee member. KITA member Park Sang-gil actively assisted the company, which had almost no export experience, by frequently visiting, recommending promising overseas buyers, and guiding buyer searches and marketing methods by country, thereby supporting their export efforts.

Meanwhile, KITA announced that advisory committee member Lee Seok-hee, who worked with Chairman Koo at LG Sangsa’s Tokyo branch in the early 1990s, attended the meeting, marking their reunion after 28 years.

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