Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, "Focusing on Resolving Export Difficulties in the New Year"

Korea International Trade Association 2023 New Year's Address Announcement

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] Koo Ja-yeol, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), announced plans to focus on resolving difficulties faced by export companies in the new year. He also pledged to strengthen the foundation for future exports and expand the scope of exports.

In his New Year's address on the 29th, Chairman Koo stated, "With the confidence and passion of 60 years of trade-driven national growth, we must overcome the crisis and achieve a leap to a higher level," detailing these plans.

KITA emphasized that despite a challenging year due to the global economic slowdown and ongoing geopolitical instability, it achieved export figures exceeding $600 billion for the second consecutive year, set a record for the highest export performance ever, and ranked sixth worldwide for the first time in history in both exports and trade.

They also highlighted the rapid growth of new industry exports such as electric vehicles and batteries, which has advanced the export structure. Semiconductors and automobiles, the main export items, maintained steady export growth despite the global economic slowdown, enhancing the status of Korea as a manufacturing powerhouse.

KITA expects that next year will continue to face high global economic and geopolitical uncertainties, with challenges surrounding domestic trade including high-intensity tightening by major countries, China's sluggish growth, and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war.

They added that the globalization trend that lasted for the past 30 years is retreating, US-China conflicts are spreading into supply chain sectors, and inter-country division of labor and cooperation are weakening. They also argued that the global competitive landscape is rapidly changing amid digital transformation and carbon neutrality efforts, and that national policies aimed at securing leadership in advanced industries are becoming new trade barriers.

Chairman Koo believes that by raising the spirit of challenge amid these changes, it will be possible to accelerate technological and industrial innovation and open a new future for the domestic economy. To this end, KITA plans to focus on three tasks in the new year: ▲resolving difficulties faced by export companies ▲strengthening the foundation for future exports ▲expanding the scope of exports.

KITA will expand communication channels next year with small and medium-sized export companies, specialized trading companies, and key export industries. They will enhance digital consultation platforms and introduce on-site consulting and one-on-one customized dialogue channels. The difficulties collected through these channels will be addressed through communication with the National Assembly and the government.

They will also proactively prepare improvement measures related to regulations and systems that weaken global competitiveness, propose them to the government, and strengthen cooperation with trading partner countries to ensure business opportunities return to domestic companies. Additionally, they will provide companies with trade information and closely support export companies in responding to trade issues by utilizing KITA’s overseas network.

To expand KITA’s scope, efforts will be made to help startups and promising companies in new growth sectors grow into global export companies. They plan to cultivate trade personnel equipped with creativity and on-site sensibility required in export fields to enhance the competitiveness of domestic companies.

Chairman Koo emphasized, "The year 2023, the Year of the Black Rabbit, is a year to break free from the crouched darkness and make a new leap forward. Despite difficult conditions, if we do not lose hope and fully demonstrate the wisdom and agility accumulated by trade professionals over a long period, our trade will be remembered as a year that began a new chapter in history once again."

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