Martial Arts Genre Meets with Sweden's Industry and Trade Committee Chair to Convey Korean Companies' Difficulties

Difficulties in Obtaining Expatriate Visas and Factory Establishment Permits Reported

Jung Manki, Vice Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, visited Stockholm, Sweden on the 11th (local time) and held a meeting with the Chairman of the Industry and Trade Committee of the Swedish Parliament to discuss expanding Korea-Sweden economic cooperation and addressing difficulties faced by Korean companies operating locally.

During the meeting, Vice Chairman Jung stated, “Korean companies operating in Sweden are experiencing difficulties such as prolonged procedures for issuing and renewing expatriate visas and challenges in obtaining environmental permits related to establishing local factories,” urging parliamentary-level support and attention to facilitate smooth business operations for Korean companies in Sweden. He also requested support for Sweden’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan.

Tobias Andersson, Chairman of the Industry and Trade Committee of the Swedish Parliament, responded, “Korean companies are important partners not only for Sweden’s economic development but also for the green transition,” adding, “We will actively support Korean companies operating locally to conduct their businesses more vigorously in the future.”

Vice Chairman Jung also met with Martin Fay, CTO of SSAB, a leading company in hydrogen reduction steelmaking. CTO Martin Fay said, “SSAB invested 200 million euros in 2021, consisting of 75% company capital and 25% support from the Swedish Energy Agency, to successfully develop hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology. Recently, we have been promoting scale-up by utilizing the Innovation Fund support from the European Commission.” In response, Vice Chairman Jung stated, “Korea is also investing significant funds in hydrogen reduction steelmaking development through cooperation between private companies and the government,” and mentioned, “We hope to create synergy through cooperation between companies from both countries in the hydrogen reduction steelmaking sector in the future.”

Meanwhile, on the same day, the Korea International Trade Association jointly held the ‘Korea-Sweden Future Mobility Business Roundtable’ with Business Sweden (Swedish Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) in Stockholm, Sweden. This event was held to explore effective corporate support and partnership enhancement measures between Korean and Swedish battery companies amid growing cooperation in the mobility sector between the two countries.