Cumulative Exports Already Surpassed Last Year's Total... KOTRA President Kang Kyung-sung Says "Market Diversification is Key"

South Korea's exports are entering a new phase, breaking all-time records. Kang Kyung-sung, President of KOTRA, stated that the exports of Korean companies are diversifying in terms of both items and markets, and that the cumulative export volume for this year has already surpassed last year's performance.

"Surpassed Last Year's Performance in Early September... $1 Trillion Export Becomes Visible"

Kang Kyung-sung, President of KOTRA, appeared on a recent economic talk show to explain the current status of South Korean exports. According to President Kang, South Korea recorded 793 billion dollars in exports last year despite difficult circumstances, breaking its all-time record. Entering this year, exports are showing a pattern of increasing by nearly 50%. In particular, as of September 5, the cumulative export volume for this year has already exceeded the total performance of last year. Considering that there are still several months remaining, President Kang predicted that annual exports could reach 1 trillion dollars.

However, President Kang pointed out that the current export structure is concentrated in specific items and markets. Items are centered around semiconductors, and markets are concentrated around China, the United States, Asia, and the EU. Accordingly, he explained that KOTRA is doing its utmost to expand this diversification.

Global South and CIS... Strategies to Expand New Export Territories

President Kang identified 'market diversification' as the core strategy to find export breakthroughs. Beyond the existing four major concentrated regions, there is a trend toward expanding markets into the 'Global South' regions, which include the Middle East, Africa, and South America. In fact, exports to the ASEAN, South America, and Africa regions have increased by about 30% to 50% this year, providing hope.

Furthermore, President Kang noted the potential of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. The CIS region, which includes Russia and its neighboring countries, is characterized by having abundant resources but slow economic development. President Kang explained that these countries want to use South Korea's economic policies as a model and wish to learn from South Korea's high-level technology, manufacturing companies, and capacity to attract capital. He mentioned the high potential of this region by citing a recent case where KOTRA signed an MOU for investment cooperation with Kyrgyzstan.

Responding to Economic Security through Supply Chain Stabilization and Item Diversification

As uncertainty in the global trade environment increases, the role of KOTRA is also changing. President Kang cited tariff barriers starting from the United States, non-tariff barriers in Europe, logistics and energy supply risks caused by wars in the Middle East, and the spread of self-centered protectionism as the major difficulties facing Korean companies. In response, KOTRA is performing supply chain stabilization tasks as a core function.

KOTRA is operating a constant management system for supply chain stabilization items in accordance with the government's Special Act on Materials, Components, and Equipment. For the 196 supply chain safety items designated by the government, KOTRA manages production sites and transaction statuses within host countries using 132 trade centers in 86 countries worldwide. President Kang emphasized the importance of supply chain diversification by mentioning a case where, when a naphtha supply shortage occurred due to the recent war in the Middle East, KOTRA trade centers directly identified 860,000 tons of naphtha in 29 countries and connected them with domestic companies to finalize contracts.