European businesspeople of the World OKTA (OKTA; World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Associations), the largest Korean diaspora business group in Korea, will spend four days on the ground helping small and midsize enterprises open sales channels.
The World OKTA Madrid chapter in Spain will hold the "2026 Europe–Eurasia regional businesspeople conference" from the 11th to the 14th (local time) at Eurostars Puerta de Madrid and the MEEU exhibition hall.
World OKTA's regional businesspeople conferences are held by region, including the Americas, Europe, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. Last year they took place in Oceania and Southeast Asia, and this year Madrid was chosen.
About 100 people attended the event, including World OKTA Chair Park Jong-bum, Ambassador Lim Soo-seok of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Spain, Federation of Korean Businesspeople in Europe President Ko Gwang-hui, and Federation of Korean Associations in Europe President Kim Young-gi.
World OKTA set the theme of this conference as "a united Europe–Eurasia, taking off with the support of OKTA worldwide." It reflects the ambition to strengthen regional cohesion and grow together. The Europe–Eurasia chapters comprise 34 chapters, the most among World OKTA's overseas chapters. Members attending the conference discussed ways to revitalize the chapters.
In addition, World OKTA designated the 12th, the second day of the conference, as "business expansion day," and plans to support Korean small and midsize enterprises in expanding overseas while discussing strategies to tap the Spanish market.
To that end, they will visit the consultation venue of "K-Expo in Spain," held during the regional businesspeople conference. The K-Expo, hosted by the Federation of Korean Businesspeople in Europe, is a B2B (business-to-business) trade show focused on business matching between domestic corporations and local European buyers. To support domestic corporations in entering overseas markets, World OKTA and other major Korean organizations active abroad have formed "Team Korea" to serve as an export platform.
About 90 Korean small and midsize corporations, roughly 300 buyers from Europe and Spain, and about 5,000 visitors are expected to attend this expo.
In addition, on the 13th a forum will be held to discuss strategies for responding to various European Union (EU) regulations. The EU is pushing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which effectively imposes a "carbon tax" based on the amount of carbon emitted during production on products imported from countries with looser greenhouse gas emission rules. In countries where a carbon tax is introduced, corporations face heavier production expense burdens, which is likely to lead to higher product prices.
World OKTA Chair Park Jong-bum said, "Madrid, where this conference is being held, is a strategic hub connecting Europe and Latin America and is well suited to finding new possibilities," adding, "Because it is being held alongside K-Expo Spain, I am confident it will be a meaningful opportunity to meet with Korean small and midsize enterprises and generate tangible business results."
He added, "As the global economic environment changes rapidly, the ability to understand local markets and link this to business is becoming more important," and "the experience of World OKTA members who have developed markets in each region will be the biggest driver of Korean corporations' overseas expansion."