KOTRA to prioritize overseas expansion
The new chief of the nation’s trade promotion agency said, Monday, he will help small- and medium-sized companies tap into global markets and Koreans find j obs overseas.
“The way to expand export through heavy reliance on a few major business groups’ shipments has reached its limit, so we need to change the paradigm focusing on income-led growth and human-centered economic progress,” said Kwon Pyung-oh, president of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
“At this point, export expansion by innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is regarded as the best measure to increase export and create jobs.” The 60-year-old added KOTRA is set to support 5,000 SMEs committed to exports and find 20,000 jobs for young Koreans in other countries every year.
Kwon’s remarks were made at his inauguration ceremony held at the KOTRA headquarters in Seoul, where he unveiled four key polices for the organization under his lead- ership.
He served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia for three years before his appointment last week. Kwon was also the chief of the trade promotion division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy from 2013 to 2015.
To this end, Kwon said the existing customer services division will be reorganized to help SMEs easily enter global markets and locals to find firms and get employed overseas, while attracting foreign investment. KOTRA currently runs 24 centers supporting overseas employment, which it will increase to 50.
Kwon also vowed to introduce a new management policy to reform the organization.
“KOTRA has been placed in a situation, where it cannot rest on its laurels anymore,” he said.
“Customers as well as the government and relevant organizations complain that KOTRA is still difficult to deal with and worse, its services are not satisfactory.”
In order to transform KOTRA into a customer- and field-centered organization, Kwon plans to transfer 10 percent of its employees working at headquarters to overseas and provincial offices. Also, new employees will begin their careers in the provinces.
Its events-related business will be consigned to private bodies and a program supporting companies’ overseas expansion and job creation will be devised at them.
According to the president, KOTRA executives and employees and the union as well as outside experts plan to come up with a specific reform plan and roadmap by the end of the month before the body carries out a reorganization and personnel reshuffle in May.