Gu Ja-yeol: "Moo-hyup on its 75th Anniversary Transforms into a Digital Leading Institution in the Trade Industry"

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Marking its 75th anniversary this year, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) has declared its transformation into a full-fledged digital leading institution to guide the trade industry. Koo Ja-yeol, KITA Chairman, announced support for the digital transformation of the trade sector while responding to COVID-19 on the ground.

At the online ceremony commemorating KITA's 75th anniversary held on the 29th, Chairman Koo stated, "To transform into a leading institution supporting the digital transformation of the trade industry, we will actively promote 10 key projects across four major areas starting in the second half of the year."

Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association / Photo by Korea International Trade Association

To this end, KITA plans to convert member services into platform-based digital services. They will launch a new online trade consultation site in the form of Knowledge iN and build a trade center map using the metaverse to provide digital services. Utilizing the big data owned by the association, they will systematically manage support records for approximately 70,000 member companies and provide customized information tailored to each member company.

Projects to support the industry's digital transformation will also be promoted. The trade center will be operated as a testbed to verify innovative technologies from startups, supporting companies to receive feedback on new services and products. To support the video content industry, a 'Creators Lab' will be operated at COEX, connecting creators with promising small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to experience and introduce their products and services. Over the next three years, 270 new global e-commerce and digital experts will be trained.

KITA plans to present future trade strategies for the industry and focus on supporting service trade. In particular, to strengthen the trade base, they will expand the recognized scope of service exports defined as services and electronic intangible assets and focus on establishing a statistical foundation for service trade.

Additionally, leveraging the association’s global network, KITA will intensively address difficulties faced by Korean companies entering local markets and support SMEs. To provide more substantial support for companies' overseas marketing, big data and artificial intelligence (AI)-based buyer-seller matching systems will be introduced.

Chairman Koo said, "KITA must become the helmsman of digital transformation for the trade industry so that our trade can innovate and grow," adding, "The association will implement various support projects tailored to member companies’ needs through organizational restructuring, including the establishment of a dedicated digital innovation department in the second half of the year."

Meanwhile, Chairman Koo, who took office this year as the first businessperson to lead KITA in 16 years, is making efforts to listen to voices from the field struggling with soaring maritime freight rates. He introduced, "In cooperation with major logistics companies, we are focusing on securing cargo space exclusively for SMEs, and although limited, we have supported 362 companies in the first phase through a special loan of 20 billion KRW to assist with logistics costs," adding, "We will continue regional visits to hear the voices from the trade field in the second half of the year."

Since Chairman Koo’s inauguration, the association has also strengthened the public-private joint 'One team' function to overcome crises. The 'Comprehensive Support Center for Businesspeople’s Immigration' and the 'Comprehensive Export-Import Logistics Response Center' established at Samseong-dong Trade Center are working with government-dispatched officials and private experts to resolve trade difficulties. Priority vaccination for businesspeople on overseas trips is one of the key achievements of the One team.

Chairman Koo further stated, "As the global supply chain has been reorganized due to COVID-19, causing a sharp rise in export-related costs such as raw material purchase expenses, we have significantly eased the loan conditions of trade promotion funds and lowered interest rates by up to 0.75 percentage points," emphasizing, "The association will continue to expand financial support for small and medium export companies struggling due to the pandemic."

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