"When the Board Shakes, Opportunities Open" KOTRA President Heads to Europe

European Supply Chain and Energy Issues: Opportunities for Korean Companies
Industry-Specific Strategies for Automobiles, Semiconductors, and Energy
Kang Kyung-sung: "Swiftly Turning New Changes into Opportunities"

"Opportunities arise when the board is shaken."

Kang Kyung-sung, President of KOTRA, said this while gathering trade office heads from the European region. He judged that the current moment of rapid changes in the global trade environment is the right time to enter the European market.

Kang Kyung-sung, President of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), is speaking at the "2025 Europe Region Trade and Investment Expansion Strategy Meeting" held in Prague, Czech Republic, on the 6th. Photo by KOTRA

On the 6th, President Kang Kyung-sung presided over the '2025 European Region Trade and Investment Expansion Strategy Meeting' held in Prague, Czech Republic, where he reviewed export and investment cooperation issues with the European regional headquarters and 24 trade office heads. President Kang emphasized exploring new paths in the European market, stating, "We must promptly connect the on-site changes arising from the complex crises facing Europe to opportunities for our companies to enter."

Europe has the world's second-largest economy and is an advanced market housing many global leading companies in manufacturing sectors such as automobiles, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and aviation. Despite the economic slowdown in Europe last year, South Korea set a record high export amount ($77.1 billion), solidifying its position as a major trading partner of Europe.

Europe continues comprehensive decarbonization efforts to achieve its 2050 climate goals while focusing on strengthening competitiveness to respond to global competition and the energy crisis. KOTRA plans to turn the supply chain and energy issues faced by Europe into opportunities for Korean companies to enter the market.

On the 6th, attendees are taking a commemorative photo at the '2025 European Regional Trade and Investment Expansion Strategy Meeting' held in Prague, Czech Republic. Photo by KOTRA

First, KOTRA is paying close attention to the movements of global leading automobile companies accelerating the transition to future vehicles and key companies in the aviation and semiconductor sectors. This is a strategy to quickly capture demand aiming for innovative technology development and supply chain diversification. In particular, KOTRA plans to support the discovery of new suppliers to maximize the advantage of 'securing regional production capabilities' for Korean manufacturing companies already established in Europe.

Another notable factor is that the nuclear power and renewable energy markets are expanding together as energy supply instability continues. KOTRA has established a strategy to operate a full-cycle support system including investigating Europe's energy transition trends, discovering cooperation demands, and supporting contract acquisition. Especially, KOTRA is moving to support nuclear power project contracts across European countries, focusing on the Czech Republic, where new nuclear power plant construction contracts are imminent.

In recent years, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the spread of Korean Wave (Hallyu) within Europe has emerged as a new trend. This is the result of Korea building strong trust in industries such as consumer goods and defense. For consumer goods, KOTRA is planning experience and cultural marketing; for defense, it aims to leverage contract momentum to target follow-up markets; and for healthcare, it is devising differentiated regional response strategies based on the characteristics of private and public demand sectors.

Additionally, Europe is expected to strengthen trade regulations to protect economic security and regional industries. KOTRA plans to proactively identify related issues centered on the Brussels trade office's economic and trade desk and minimize negative impacts on Korean companies through a political information dissemination system.

President Kang Kyung-sung of KOTRA stated, "Now, when the global trade environment is rapidly changing, is precisely the right time to enter the conservative European market," adding, "We will actively utilize cooperation demands to overcome complex issues such as supply chain restructuring and energy and geopolitical risks and connect them to export achievements for our companies."