Kang Kyung-sung Appointed President of KOTRA "Supporting Leap to World's Top 5 Export Powers"

Official Inauguration Today at Seocho-gu Headquarters
"Let's Become a Competent Guide for South Korea's Exports"

Kang Kyung-sung, the newly appointed president of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), stated on the 11th upon his inauguration, "I will do my best to fulfill KOTRA's mission to make (our country) one of the world's top five export powers, a major investment nation, and a global trade hub."

Kang Kyung-sung, the newly appointed president of KOTRA, is expressing his thoughts and determination at the inauguration ceremony held on the 11th at the headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by KOTRA

At the inauguration ceremony held at the headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, President Kang said, "Let us become a competent guide for South Korea's exports."

He emphasized, "To leap into the top five export nations, we must discover and nurture new export entities, products, and markets," adding, "Along with comprehensive export support such as market research, buyer discovery, and resolving difficulties, we must provide specialized support to expand exports in strategic industries such as nuclear power, bio, defense, and services."

He further described KOTRA as an 'agile global sentinel,' stressing, "We must promptly and deeply convey early warning signs and opportunities in overseas markets to our companies." He also proposed, "Let us establish strategies and actively promote support projects so that regional opportunity factors, such as the fostering of advanced industries in major countries, translate into achievements for our companies."

President Kang also stated, "Another role of KOTRA is to attract overseas technology, capital, manpower, and resources to the domestic market to enhance national competitiveness," urging, "Let us become a solid stepping stone for strengthening national competitiveness." He mentioned the need to strengthen corporate support capabilities through the digitalization of support projects and the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) as a representative institution for digital trade and investment. He added, "Since KOTRA's overseas trade office network is a global business infrastructure that all companies, government ministries, and public institutions can utilize, actively respond to internal and external collaboration demands to create synergy."

President Kang entered public service through the 29th Technical Examination and has held key positions at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, including Director of the Nuclear Power Industry Policy Division, Director of the Petroleum Industry Division, Director of the Trade and Investment Office, Director of the Industrial Policy Office, and Director of the Energy Resources Office. He later served as the first Industrial Policy Secretary at the Presidential Secretariat under the current administration and was the first to serve as both the 1st and 2nd Vice Minister since the establishment of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.