KOTRA Signs Business Agreement with Korean Air... "Reducing Overseas Logistics Burden for SMEs"

Korean Air Provides Up to 6 Tons Weekly Dedicated Space and Freight Discounts for SMEs on Incheon-Frankfurt Cargo Flights

KOTRA and Korean Air signed a business agreement on the 3rd. Kim Yuntae, Head of KOTRA's Small and Medium Business Division (left), took a commemorative photo with Eom Jaedong, Head of Korean Air's Cargo Business Division, after the signing ceremony.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] KOTRA and Korean Air signed a business agreement on the 3rd. As the expansion of e-commerce has made prompt delivery increasingly important, the logistics burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has intensified due to prolonged issues such as high freight rates and lack of shipping space.

The agreement includes provisions to provide dedicated space and discounted freight rates to support air transportation for small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, plans were made to establish cooperative measures for mutual growth between the export industry and the aviation industry, and to discover new projects for exporting SMEs. According to the agreement, starting mid-month, Korean Air will offer dedicated shipping space and freight discounts for up to 6 tons per week on the Incheon-Frankfurt cargo flight route twice a week for export cargo from small and medium-sized enterprises.

According to statistics from the Korea Customs Service, in 2021, South Korea's import and export cargo exceeded 127.79 million cases. By number of cases, air export cargo accounted for 76% of total export cargo. The number of export cargo transported by air in 2021 reached 15.31 million cases, showing a steep increase of over 40% compared to the previous year.

Kim Yoon-tae, head of KOTRA's SME and Mid-sized Enterprise Division, stated, “As logistics difficulties have prolonged delivery issues, the role of air transport is growing,” and added, “We will further expand support projects encompassing both maritime and air transport to enable companies to export stably without logistics burdens.”

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