KOTRA Supports Overseas Expansion of 80 'K-Service Companies'

Kickstarting Overseas Expansion in Franchise, Edutech, and ICT Sectors

The government and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) are supporting domestic service companies in entering the global market.

According to KOTRA on the 5th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA held the launch ceremony for the '2025 Service Business Model (BM) Overseas Expansion Support Project' the day before, in accordance with the government's February inter-ministerial emergency export measures announcement.

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) held the launch ceremony for the "2025 Service Business Model (BM) Overseas Expansion Support Project" on the 4th at its headquarters in Yeomgok-dong, Seoul. Jung Woyeong, Head of KOTRA's Innovation Growth Division (eighth from the left in the front row), and the selected domestic companies are posing for a commemorative photo. Photo by KOTRA

Now in its eighth year, this project provides customized services such as ▲consulting ▲business trip support ▲business consultations to promising domestic service companies. The total export amount of participating companies last year was 30 million USD, doubling compared to 15 million USD in 2023. Notably, the popular domestic dessert company S successfully opened its first store in a busy district of Tokyo, Japan, just eight months after participating in a consultation hosted by KOTRA in April last year. This achievement significantly shortened the franchise contract process, which typically takes over a year.

This year, 80 companies selected in sectors such as ▲franchise (22 companies) ▲edutech (19 companies) ▲information and communication technology (ICT, 20 companies) will begin full-scale overseas market development starting with this launch ceremony. KOTRA plans to expand entry into franchise and edutech sectors targeting global South countries such as Southeast Asia, where the Korean Wave is popular and purchasing power is increasing. Additionally, in countries like Japan and Thailand, where digital transformation demand is high, KOTRA will strengthen ICT service cooperation aiming for exports exceeding 50 million USD this year.

To successfully support the overseas expansion of participating companies, KOTRA plans to continuously provide practical business opportunities by holding specialized exhibitions and consultation meetings domestically, such as the Global Franchise Plaza (March) and the Consumer Goods & Services Exhibition (April).

Jung Wooyoung, Head of KOTRA’s Innovation Growth Division, emphasized, "As the global trade environment rapidly changes, overseas expansion of the service industry will become a new growth engine for our companies. This year, through expanded support, we will assist service companies in entering overseas markets and actively utilize KOTRA’s global network to faithfully serve as a stepping stone by strengthening business matching, localization support, and marketing."