Supporting the Globalization of the National AI Ecosystem
Professors Jang Byungtak and Yoon Jongyoung Appointed as Committee Members
Active Recruitment of Overseas AI Talent
KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) has established the 'KOTRA AI Committee' to improve its AI-powered export support system for the era of $1 trillion in exports and to actively support the globalization of the national AI ecosystem.
On July 20, KOTRA announced that it would launch the KOTRA AI Committee on July 21. As AI technology emerges as a key driver of civilizational transformation, the government has set a goal of becoming one of the top three AI powerhouses in the world, presenting five major action plans: building AI infrastructure, fostering AI industries and companies, nurturing national AI talent, reforming AI-related systems, and expanding AI utilization.
In line with these efforts, KOTRA has established the KOTRA AI Committee, chaired by President Kang Kyungseong, which will serve as a control tower overseeing all AI-related projects and infrastructure within the organization. In addition, Professor Jang Byungtak of Seoul National University and Professor Yoon Jongyoung of Kookmin University have been appointed as external members to strengthen expertise in strategy development and execution.
On this day, KOTRA also unveiled its "KOTRA AI Strategy Direction," which presents the vision of becoming "Korea's Leading Institution for the AI Transformation of Trade and Investment," in conjunction with the launch of the committee. The strategy consists of three main pillars?improving the AI-powered export support system, supporting the globalization of the national AI ecosystem, and expanding the agency's own AI utilization?broken down into 11 specific initiatives.
First, to enhance the AI-powered export support system, KOTRA will introduce an AI Export Assistant and expand AI-based digital trade support projects and infrastructure. The AI Export Assistant will serve as an integrated conversational service platform utilizing generative AI, aiming to address companies' unstructured inquiries and requests, and to support information acquisition, decision-making, and marketing execution in the future.
Regarding support for the globalization of the national AI ecosystem, KOTRA, in its role as a trade, investment, and economic security institution, will simultaneously support both "expanding overseas market entry" and "strengthening AI industry competitiveness."
To expand overseas market entry, KOTRA will strengthen support for overseas expansion of the AI industry, expand export support for AI-related sectors centered on the K-Grid, and promote global AI innovation flagship projects. To enhance AI industry competitiveness, KOTRA will actively conduct global AI trend research and dissemination, attract investment from overseas AI companies, and recruit global AI talent.
In particular, to attract overseas AI talent, KOTRA plans to add the AI industry as a target field for its "Overseas Talent Recruitment Center," established this year, and to actively seek outstanding AI professionals from the United States, Europe, India, and other regions.
To expand the agency's own use of AI, KOTRA will work to improve work processes through AI, enhance productivity by utilizing domestic companies' AI solutions, and strengthen AI literacy education. Through these efforts, KOTRA aims to systematically boost internal AI capabilities and foster an AI-centric organizational culture.
President Kang stated, "The greater the upheaval brought by the AI transformation, the more opportunities arise. KOTRA will make every effort to accelerate the arrival of the $1 trillion export era and Korea's leap to becoming a top-three AI powerhouse by improving the AI-powered export support system and supporting the globalization of the national AI ecosystem."
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