Gu Ja-yeol "US-China Conflict and Supply Chain Issues Are Variables in Trade... Trade Strategy Must Change"

"Emphasizing the Need to Transform to Match the World's 10th Largest Economy"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] "The global supply chain bottlenecks triggered by COVID-19, protectionist tendencies due to US-China conflicts, as well as increasingly stringent standards on environment, security, labor, and human rights will become important variables in trade."

On the 22nd, Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), predicted at a press conference held at the Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, that the future trade environment will not be easy due to these variables, emphasizing, "In the flow of these changes, trade strategies must also transform to match the world's 10th largest economy."

He stated, "Based on our excellent manufacturing capabilities, we must strengthen our role as a global supply chain hub, while enhancing solidarity and cooperation with the international community to restore the multilateral trade order," adding, "KITA will also closely monitor trade issues in each country and actively respond to changes in the global trade environment by accurately conveying the industry's voice to the government."

Chairman Koo also said, "Next year, we plan to expand digital-based services so that our trade industry can quickly respond to the digital transformation accelerated by COVID-19," adding, "We will also focus our capabilities on in-depth research into the future growth engines of our exports to strengthen the dynamism of trade."

Earlier, Chairman Koo was inaugurated as the 31st president of KITA on February 24. As the head of LS Group, he became the first private-sector business leader to serve as KITA chairman in 15 years since Kim Jae-chul, Honorary Chairman of Dongwon Group (served 1999?2006). Starting his career in 1978 at Lucky-Goldstar Trading (now LG International), he leveraged his experience navigating the global trade scene as a businessperson to listen to the difficulties faced by export companies for nearly nine months after his inauguration and focused on resolving them.

He noted, "To resolve logistics difficulties such as soaring freight rates, ship shortages, and national movement restrictions, which were the most urgent issues for the trade industry this year, we established a joint support window with the government," highlighting, "We also actively cooperated with the maritime, air transport, and logistics industries."

He reiterated, "Next year, we plan to expand digital-based services so that our trade industry can quickly respond to the digital transformation accelerated by COVID-19," adding, "We will also focus our capabilities on in-depth research into the future growth engines of our exports to strengthen the dynamism of trade."

Meanwhile, the KITA International Trade and Commerce Research Institute forecasted in its report titled '2021 Export-Import Evaluation and 2022 Outlook' released on the same day that this year, South Korea's exports will reach $636.2 billion, a 24.1% increase from the previous year, marking the highest annual performance ever. Imports are expected to increase by 29.5% to $605.7 billion. Next year, exports are projected to grow by 2.1% to $649.8 billion, and imports by 1.6% to $615.4 billion.

The report stated, "Next year, South Korea's exports are expected to continue growing amid the global economic recovery led by advanced economies," but also noted, "However, global supply chain disruptions, China's economic slowdown, and rising inflation in major countries will act as constraints on exports."

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