Exports Decline for 6 Consecutive Months... KOTRA's Yoo Jung-yeol: "I Will Work Hard to Export Even One More Unit to France"

"With the determination to export even just one more dollar, I will support our companies' overseas business by working tirelessly on the ground."

Yoo Jung-yeol, President of KOTRA, has resolved to revive exports, which have been declining for half a year. He has made the restoration of healthy export momentum his top priority and plans to concentrate all efforts in the first half of the year.

On the 11th, Yoo held a press briefing with reporters in Gwanghwamun and presented support measures to be promoted for expanding exports this year.

On the 11th, Yoo Jung-yeol, President of KOTRA, is speaking in Gwanghwamun.
[Photo by Han Ye-ju]

원본보기 아이콘

Exports, which have supported the Korean economy, have been declining for six consecutive months since October last year. This is the first time in over three years since August 2020, the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. The trade balance has also been in deficit for 13 consecutive months since March last year.

In response, the government set this year's export target at $685 billion (approximately 900 trillion KRW), a 0.2% increase from last year, and established the 'Pan-Ministerial Export Strategy Meeting' to achieve this goal.

KOTRA, in line with the government's all-out export and investment efforts, plans to ▲support early export recovery by executing 70% of the overseas marketing budget in the first half ▲expand the capture and utilization of export opportunities on the ground ▲fully implement export support projects ▲enhance response capabilities to global issues.

President Yoo said, "We will execute 70% of KOTRA's overseas marketing budget early in the first half," adding, "We will also continuously hold overseas exhibitions in a relay format in line with the reopening." In particular, for 'Boom-up Korea,' which starts the day after the press briefing, KOTRA is inviting 400 overseas buyers, the largest scale since COVID-19, to fully focus on expanding exports.

Additionally, KOTRA analyzes export data such as export boom items and import trends on the ground through 129 overseas trade centers in 84 countries and 12 domestic regional support groups to continuously discover export opportunities. Based on this, the newly established Trade Facilitation Support Task Force (TF) last month plans to support domestic company matching. Furthermore, differentiated marketing projects tailored to demand by overseas market will be carried out, and support projects will be strengthened focusing on promising export items such as nuclear power, defense, and consumer goods. In line with the recent trend of digital transformation (DX), efforts will also be made to diversify export methods through the activation of digital trade.

President Yoo explained, "We will strengthen on-site management and strive to listen to companies' difficulties," adding, "We plan to actively utilize global opportunity factors such as supply chain restructuring, digital green transition, and changes in consumer trends in export marketing."

Finally, he emphasized, "We will enhance our response capabilities to global issues to establish a stable foundation for our exports," and said, "Global environments are continuously changing, and more agile responses are required than ever. Through our network, we will continuously monitor trade, economy, and markets to discover various opportunities and rapidly disseminate them to companies and various institutions."

He identified the Middle East, Indonesia, Mexico, and India as the most promising emerging markets. President Yoo said, "It is difficult to predict when emerging markets will achieve visible results, but it is already reflected in export indicators," adding, "We expect to find opportunity factors for export growth in these regions."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.