Jeong Manki, Vice Chairman of Muhyup, "Korea's Share of Global Exports Shrinks... Due to Regulations and Labor Flexibility"

Statements from the 12 Domestic Branches' Countermeasure Meeting

Jung Manki, Vice Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, delivering a congratulatory speech at the 2nd Korea-US Industrial Cooperation Conference titled "Ways to Enhance Korea-US Carbon Neutrality Cooperation," held on the 13th at the Hyatt Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Chung Manki, Vice Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), pointed out at a meeting held with 12 KITA branches that "due to the introduction of various corporate regulations and the deterioration of labor flexibility, South Korea's share in global exports is declining," KITA announced on the 27th.

Vice Chairman Chung made these remarks at the "Countermeasure Meeting to Overcome On-site Difficulties by Domestic Regional Bases" held with 12 domestic branches at the Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the day before. He said, "South Korea's share in global exports peaked at 3.2% in 2015 but fell to 2.9% last year," and emphasized, "A sober diagnosis is needed to determine whether the introduction of various corporate regulations and the deterioration of labor flexibility, which have increased overseas investment by our companies, have weakened the export industry base."

Vice Chairman Chung analyzed that comparing export volumes by country between 1990 and last year, Vietnam increased by 139.7 times, China by 54.2 times, and Indonesia by 22 times, whereas the United States increased by 4.5 times, Germany by 3.9 times, Japan by 2.6 times, and France by 2.7 times, indicating a rapid change in the situation of major exporting countries worldwide.

Accordingly, the share of countries in global exports is increasing for China, Vietnam, and India, while decreasing for the United States, Germany, and Japan. However, during this period, South Korea's exports increased by 9.9 times, maintaining a solid growth rate exceeding the global trade volume growth rate of 6.4 times. South Korea's share in global exports also rose from 1.9% in 1990 to 2.9% last year, narrowing the gap with Japan to 0.5 percentage points.

Vice Chairman Chung advised, "Since our trade has recorded a deficit for six consecutive months this year and exports are slowing down, we need to soberly assess our trade and establish countermeasures."

Additionally, the heads of the 12 domestic KITA branches attending the meeting complained that the 52-hour workweek system, difficulties in securing foreign labor, and rising minimum wages are increasing the burden on export companies. KITA plans to propose the difficulties identified through its nationwide branches to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's export-import situation office and the government.

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