Launching the "K-Export One Team" Toward 1 Trillion Dollars in Exports... Releasing 275 Trillion Won in Trade Insurance

Declaration to Join the Top Five Exporting Nations... Focusing on Eight Strategic Items
187 Trillion Won in Finance for SMEs and Mid-Sized Companies, Introduction of Export Factoring

On the 13th, export cars and containers are waiting to be loaded at Pyeongtaek Port, Gyeonggi. The Asia Business Daily

The government is fully launching a public-private joint "K-Export One Team" with the goal of ushering in the era of 1 trillion dollars in exports and rising into the global top five exporting nations. Amid growing uncertainty in the external trade environment, it aims to expand the export base and strengthen support focused on strategic industries to achieve 740 billion dollars in exports this year.

On the 25th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the "1st Public-Private Joint Export Expansion Meeting" chaired by Minister Kim Jeonggwan, and announced the "2026 Pan-Governmental Export Expansion Plan" and the "Trade Finance Innovation Plan for Exports by All." At the meeting, major business organizations, leading companies by industry, and export support institutions attended and discussed public-private cooperation measures to expand exports.

Minister Kim stated, "Uncertainty in our export environment has risen to an unprecedented level," adding, "We will turn this crisis into an opportunity through proactive export diversification." He went on, "We will respond to global trends such as the Korean Wave, artificial intelligence (AI), and population aging, and strengthen summit diplomacy and trade cooperation to concentrate support on eight key priority items including consumer goods and defense exports," and added, "We will help local and micro businesses take their first steps in exporting and build a step-by-step ladder so that promising small and medium-sized enterprises can grow into core export companies, thereby broadening the export base."

Consumer goods, power equipment, biohealth... "Export diversification"

The government has set this year’s export target at 740 billion dollars and defined three main policy directions: ▲diversifying export items and markets with a focus on eight strategic sectors ▲innovating the export support system, including finance, exhibitions, and infrastructure ▲and building a growth ladder that links local and small and medium-sized enterprises to global companies.

First, it will advance the export structure around eight strategic items: consumer goods, power equipment, biohealth, defense exports, nuclear power, automobiles, ships, and steel. In line with global trends such as the Korean Wave, artificial intelligence (AI), and population aging, it will strategically foster the consumer goods, power equipment, and biohealth sectors. In consumer goods, it will hold five Korean Wave expos within the year and build five global online malls to support cross-border direct-to-consumer sales. It will also newly create a dedicated fund of 300 billion won. An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained, "We plan to promote the Korean Wave expos in a format that combines exports of K-content and K-consumer goods," adding, "We will simultaneously support the overseas expansion of domestic distribution platforms and the expansion of online cross-border direct-to-consumer sales."

To respond to growing demand for AI infrastructure, the government will support participation by domestic power equipment companies in major countries' energy projects, and in the biohealth sector it will establish a 150 billion won fund specialized in Phase 3 clinical trials. By 2027, it will also create a 1 trillion won K-Bio and Vaccine Fund. For defense exports and nuclear power, it will strengthen bidding activities in connection with summit diplomacy, while for key items such as automobiles, ships, and steel, it will secure a stable export base through free trade agreements (FTAs), official development assistance (ODA), and intergovernmental consultations.

In particular, regarding the inclusion of defense exports and nuclear power among the eight strategic items, the ministry explained, "Defense exports and nuclear power are project-based, order-winning businesses, so it is difficult to capture them as individual items in customs-based statistics, and related parts and equipment are embedded in other items and already reflected in exports." It added, "There is a need to manage, in a more sophisticated data-based way, the contract amounts, actual deliveries, and the scale of derivative exports."

Kim Jeonggwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, is attending and speaking at the Economic Ministers' Meeting and the Ministers' Meeting for Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul on Feb. 25, 2026. Photo by Jo Yongjun

275 trillion won in trade insurance... Expanded financial support for "exports by all"

The export support system will also undergo a major overhaul. This year, the government will provide trade insurance on a record scale of 275 trillion won to support corporate liquidity. It will expand win-win trade finance through contributions from large corporations and banks, and will offer tailored financial support such as preferential interest rates, higher guarantee limits, and premium discounts to promising industries including consumer goods, AI, defense exports, and nuclear power. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained, "The 275 trillion won is the volume of trade insurance supply for this year alone," adding, "Separately from this, from 2026 to 2030, we plan to focus 187 trillion won over five years on small and medium-sized as well as mid-sized companies according to their growth stages."

The exhibition industry will also be strategically fostered. The government will nurture specialized exhibitions that leverage high-tech industries and K-culture, and through a public-private joint task force (TF) it plans to establish the "Korea Exhibition Industry Development Roadmap 2030" within the first half of the year. To resolve corporate difficulties, it will expand and reorganize the "Customs Response 119" service into "Trade Barrier 119," and in the second half of the year it will also launch an "AI Export Secretary Service."

In addition, over the next five years, the government will promote the "Export Hope 1000 Project" targeting 1,000 local and micro businesses, providing one-stop support from training to listing on online platforms. At the same time, it plans to nurture 500 companies with exports of more than 10 million dollars each into core companies through the "K-Export Star 500 Project."

The government will also supply 187 trillion won in trade finance to small and medium-sized as well as mid-sized companies by 2030, and provide 127 trillion won in support for strategic and high-tech industries. For companies entering emerging markets, it will introduce an "export factoring" system in which export receivables are purchased directly, and will provide 3 trillion won in liquidity. It will also pursue amendments to the Trade Insurance Act and the advancement of AI-based trade finance services. A ministry official said, "Trade insurance will not be limited to insurance and guarantees, but will be expanded to more proactive risk-sharing methods such as direct investment and export factoring for small and medium-sized as well as mid-sized companies," adding, "The idea is to move toward a structure that reduces companies' repayment burdens and allows public support to play a greater role."

At the meeting, an MOU was also signed between the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and Hana Bank for 5 trillion won in preferential financing support for exporting small and medium-sized as well as mid-sized companies. The two institutions agreed to strengthen financial support by, among other things, raising insurance limits and sharing credit information for companies that are jointly entering overseas markets.