KOTRA shifts focus to Global South amid trade tensions

CEO seeks bigger budget to support exporters

By Park Jae-hyuk

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) will reinforce its operations in certain developing nations called the Global South, in line with the government's plan to help exporters diversify the market in response to the escalating global trade tensions.

Amid uncertainties surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's protectionist policies, the state-funded organization denied a setback in Korea's trade policies, citing its ability to collect and analyze real-time information from the United States.

"We will go all out to overcome difficulties facing exporters and investors," KOTRA CEO Kang Kyung-sung told reporters Thursday during a press conference on the occasion of the 100th day after he took office.

In light of Korean companies looking for alternative destinations for their exports, Kang unveiled the agency's plan to open new offices this year in the Mexican city of Monterrey and the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

He also promised to increase the number of companies participating in business delegations to the Global South nations and set up the K-logistics desks there to brace for the rising demand for shipments to those regions.

"It is crucial to make efforts to diversify the market, as nearly 70 percent of Korea's export has relied on China, North America, Southeast Asia and the European Union," said the CEO, who previously served as a vice industry minister.

As a necessary measure to support exporters, Kang mentioned a hike in the annual budget for KOTRA to 750 billion won ($520 million) by 2027 from the current 664.9 billion won so that it can increase its workforce to 1,900 from 1,838 and its overseas offices to 140 from 129.

Defining KOTRA as an institute for national economic security, the CEO emphasized that the head of the agency's North American headquarters has informed him every day of the latest Trump policies and their potential impacts on Korean companies.

Earlier this year, KOTRA relocated the regional headquarters to Washington from New York to better cope with trade policies coming from the White House.

"It is even difficult for conglomerates to analyze potential impacts of U.S. policies on their businesses amid the deluge of information written in English," Kang said.

"With our 63 years of experience and foreign employees, we can analyze real-time information and quickly explain details of the information to Korean companies."

Regarding trade with China, he viewed the country as a competitor rather than a destination for exporters.

"During my recent visit to China, I realized that Chinese companies surpassed Korean companies in certain fields," the CEO said.

"We should brace for fierce competition with Chinese companies in a third country, although the country's growing national income could be helpful to exporters of Korean consumer goods."

Kang also addressed possible business opportunities after a ceasefire in Ukraine, given that peace talks between Russia and the U.S. have shown progress since Trump's inauguration.

"Our regional headquarters for the Commonwealth of Independent States has collected information about the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine in order to inform the government and companies of the information," he said.

"It has also paid attention to U.S. sanctions on transactions with Russia so as to help Korean companies resume their operations in Russia when the U.S. lifts the sanctions."