Gwangju City Teams Up with Local Companies to Target Southeast Asian Market

Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Seeking Countermeasures for "Trump 2.0"

Gwangju Mayor Kang Kijeong is discussing measures with Southeast Asian export companies and related organizations to enhance the competitiveness of local export companies following the inauguration of the second Trump administration at Gwangju Technopark on the afternoon of the 12th. Provided by Gwangju City

Gwangju City is joining hands with local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to target the Southeast Asian market.

On the 12th, Gwangju City held a meeting at the Gwangju Technopark conference room to discuss strategies for diversifying export markets for local SMEs and advancing into the Southeast Asian market.

This meeting was part of the activities of the "Gwangju Export Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Support Team," which has been operating since last month to efficiently respond to the increasingly volatile external export environment caused by the strengthening of protectionism, such as the Trump administration's second-term tariff policies.

The meeting was attended by Mayor Kang Gijung, the Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Office of SMEs and Startups, the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Gwangju Technopark, the Gwangju Regional Office of the Korea Electronics Technology Institute, the Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as companies exporting to Southeast Asia and those aspiring to enter export markets.

Mayor Kang has been maintaining communication with the industrial sector as economic and political uncertainties at home and abroad increase. At the beginning of this year, together with 76 organizations and groups, including economic associations, the "2025 Gwangju Economy Together Chachachak (Good Consumption, Good Finance, Good Jobs) Gwangju" event was held to secure momentum for overcoming crises. At the same time, administrative efforts have been focused on visiting companies such as Kumho Tire Gwangju Plant, Kia Autoland Gwangju, and Samsung Electronics Gwangju Operation, as well as devising measures to strengthen support for SMEs, small business owners, and the self-employed.

The meeting mainly discussed the following topics: ▲ Diversification of Southeast Asian exports in response to Trump 2.0 ▲ Introduction of government and Gwangju City export support programs ▲ Current status of local product promotional centers in Singapore and other regions ▲ Measures to revitalize exports to Southeast Asia.

Participants identified "export market diversification" as the key to overcoming domestic and international economic crises, and proposed various measures to respond to protectionism in major global markets such as the US and China and to find new export opportunities.

In particular, discussions continued on sharing real cases faced by export companies, such as increased import raw material prices due to recent exchange rate hikes, non-tariff barriers (customs clearance and certification issues), and difficulties in securing local distribution networks, as well as exploring solutions to these challenges.

Companies stated, "For export market diversification, please thoroughly examine detailed areas where public-private cooperation is necessary, such as securing domestic performance and activating support for local demonstration and product/technology upgrades," and added, "Let us turn crises into opportunities through continuous discussions like this meeting."

Mayor Kang Gijung said, "Given the high dependence on exports to the US and China, efforts to secure new markets by turning our attention to New Southern countries must be pursued in parallel in order to respond to the rapidly changing environment," and added, "Let us work together to efficiently support SMEs."

Going forward, Gwangju City plans to continue holding industry-specific meetings centered on the Export Industry Competitiveness Enhancement Support Team to listen to the difficulties of companies and further expand customized support for export market diversification and strengthening technological competitiveness.

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