Kang Kyung-sung, president of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), said, "We will take the lead to usher in the era of $1 trillion in exports (about 1,464 trillion won)."
Kang held a press briefing on the first anniversary of taking office on the 13th in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and said this. The "$1 trillion export era" is President Lee Jae-myung's campaign pledge. Korea first surpassed $500 billion in exports in 2011, but more than 10 years later it has yet to cross the $700 billion threshold.
That day, Kang unveiled KOTRA's new vision, "a global business platform leading Korea's innovative economy." He explained, "For 'exports and investment attraction,' the pillars of our economy, to grow without wavering, we must achieve innovation in the trade structure," adding, "We have embedded KOTRA's role in trade structure innovation into the vision and newly set mid- to long-term management goals befitting it."
He added, "The direction KOTRA should take is to link the world-noted innovation capacity of Korea's artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced industries, and the standing of a cultural powerhouse driven by the Korean Wave, to 'exports and investment attraction.'"
To achieve the new vision, KOTRA first decided to put more weight behind "export diversification." Kang said, "To diversify markets, we will expand our organization and programs with a focus on the global South, including ASEAN and India, and to diversify product categories, we will actively support the globalization of new growth engines that are new sources of revenue, such as consumer goods, defense, and bio."
In addition, to diversify the actors, it will help companies that did not export to start exporting and expand exports by beginner exporters. According to KOTRA, of last year's 100,000 exporting companies, 96,000 were small and midsize enterprises. This year, surpassing 100,000 small and midsize exporting companies is likely.
Kang also said, "We will concentrate all our capabilities to leap to the national goal of becoming one of the 'three AI powerhouses.'" In July, KOTRA established the "KOTRA AI Committee," led directly by Kang, and expanded related units.
Kang emphasized, "We are pursuing 15 detailed tasks under three key strategies: improving the AI-enabled trade and investment support system, supporting the globalization of the national AI ecosystem, and expanding the agency's use of AI," adding, "As a public institution, we will fulfill our responsibility and role in the AI great transition."
It also decided to further strengthen its role as an "economic security agency." Kang said, "If this year was the year of tariff negotiations, next year competition over supply chain restructuring will intensify further," adding, "The role as an economic security agency has become even more important." KOTRA plans to contribute to stabilizing supply chains through enhanced early monitoring and preemptive responses for critical minerals, diversification of import sources, and support for domestic production. The related budget also increased by more than 30 billion won, from 4.55 billion won this year to 35.04 billion won next year.
In addition, it will support the globalization of new growth industries such as AI, defense, and consumer goods, and bolster domestic competitiveness by attracting overseas technology and talent.
That day, Kang projected that with recent tariff negotiations with the United States concluded, manufacturers' entry into the U.S. market will pick up. He said, "We have seven Overseas Investment Enterprise Centers in the United States, and when mid-sized and small companies enter the U.S., we plan to provide practical support from establishing corporations and factories to labor and accounting," adding, "We will do our best to provide timely information on how the market is changing."