Jeong Manki, Vice Chairman of the Korea Federation of Machinery Industry, "We must expand the export base by growing robots, drones, and aerospace"

Martial Arts, Holds '3rd Industry Relay Meeting for Export Expansion'

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announced on the 29th that it held the "3rd Industry Relay Meeting for Export Expansion" chaired by Vice Chairman Jeong Manki.

This meeting was organized to identify on-site difficulties faced by export companies. Eight representatives from advanced new industry companies in the aerospace, drone, and robotics sectors attended, including Na Seonghwa, Deputy Head of the One-Stop Export and Order Support Group; Kim Taehoon, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Drone Industry Promotion Association; Jo Younghoon, Vice Chairman of the Korea Robot Industry Association; and representatives from Kenkoa Aerospace Co., Ltd., Koga Robotics Co., Ltd., Dime Research Co., Ltd., and Autoel Co., Ltd.

At the '3rd Industry Relay Meeting for Export Expansion,' Jeong Manki, Vice Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, is speaking. [Photo by Korea International Trade Association]

In his opening remarks, Jeong Manki, Vice Chairman of KITA, stated, "Exports have decreased by 13.6% and imports by 6.9% up to May this year, resulting in a deficit increase to $27.4 billion." He added, "While global exports are expected to grow by 1.7% this year, South Korea's exports are projected to decline by 7.7%."

He diagnosed, "The main cause of our export slump is the decrease in exports to the Chinese market. The self-sufficiency rate for intermediate goods demand within China is increasing, and the substitution of Korean products by ASEAN goods is rising, making trade with China structurally difficult." He emphasized, "In the long term, we must grow new industries such as robotics, drones, and aerospace to expand our export base."

KITA plans to prepare specific policy alternatives addressing the difficulties raised at this meeting and propose them to relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Science and ICT.

KITA has been continuously holding the "Industry Relay Meeting for Export Expansion" to listen to on-site difficulties and regulatory issues and to explore ways to strengthen export support. Following the meetings already held for ▲ AI·IT sectors (June 15), ▲ Future Automobiles (June 22), and ▲ Advanced New Industries (June 28), meetings for ▲ Content (July 5) and ▲ Bio sectors (July 12) are scheduled.