Martial Arts and Industry Department Ceremony Held... Kia Awarded Top Export Tower
Hwashin Bolt and SK Hynix Receive Gold Tower Industrial Medals
A total of 1,545 companies, including Kia, received the 'Export Tower' award on the occasion of the 61st Trade Day. Additionally, 597 businesspeople from companies such as Hwashin Bolt Industry and SK Hynix were awarded industrial medals for their contributions to trade promotion.
Yoon Jin-sik, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, is delivering the opening address at the '61st Trade Day Ceremony' held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Korea International Trade Association
The Korea International Trade Association and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that they held the 61st Trade Day ceremony on the 5th at COEX in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. About 1,000 people, including awardees and heads of government and related organizations, attended the ceremony.
The predecessor of Trade Day was Export Day. The government established Export Day on November 30, 1964, to commemorate South Korea’s achievement of $100 million in exports, and renamed it Trade Day in 1990. After achieving $1 trillion in trade on December 5, 2011, becoming the ninth country worldwide to do so, the date was changed from November 30 to December 5 starting in 2012.
The ceremony was held under this year’s slogan, "A Trade Power Achieved Together, A Soaring Republic of Korea." In his opening remarks, Yoon Jin-sik, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, said, "The shift in the trade paradigm, with weakening international cooperation and the spread of protectionism, presents both challenges and new opportunities for us." He emphasized, "We must maintain a super-gap over latecomers through technological innovation, improve the skewed export structure, and build a sustainable foundation for export expansion."
At the ceremony, awards were presented to 1,545 companies receiving Export Towers, and 597 individuals were honored with industrial medals, commendations, and Korea International Trade Association chairman’s awards. The Export Tower is awarded when a corporation breaks its annual export record (based on July 1 to June 30). For example, the $10 billion Export Tower is given to a company that has never before recorded annual exports exceeding $10 billion but breaks that record in the given year.
Representatives from eight companies, including Kia, which received the highest Export Tower for $25 billion in exports this year, POSCO Future M ($2 billion tower), HD Hyundai Electric ($1 billion tower), and Samyang Foods ($700 million tower), took the stage. Kia consecutively received the $20 billion Export Tower last year and the $25 billion Export Tower this year through new car launches and supply chain expansion.
In the award section for contributors, nine people, including Jung Soon-won, CEO of Hwashin Bolt Industry (Gold Tower Industrial Medal), Baek Seung-han, CEO of Classys (Silver Tower Industrial Medal), and Choi Sung-kyu, CEO of Elpowertech (Bronze Tower Industrial Medal), received their awards on site.
CEO Jung was recognized for his 40 years of manufacturing special bolts and successfully developing and localizing high-quality special bolts for defense, nuclear power plants, and plants, significantly contributing to the development of domestic power facilities and heavy industries, earning the Gold Tower Industrial Medal.
CEO Baek received the Silver Tower Industrial Medal for developing an independent high-frequency skin beauty device and exporting it to over 70 countries, enhancing the status of 'K-Beauty.'
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
