KITA.ORG

On July 3, CSIS Senior Vice President for Asia and Korea Chair Victor Cha and USC Director of the Korean Studies Institute David Kang visited the Korea International Trade Association (“KITA”) to discuss future Korea-U.S. policy and improvements to further strengthen bilateral relationship.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance, which began as a military and security alliance and evolved into an economic and technological alliance. In particular, recent trade and investment between Korea and the U.S. have significantly increased with the total bilateral trade reaching $191.6 billion and Korea's exports to the U.S. exceeding $100 billion for the first time.

Mr. Victor Cha emphasized that there is growing interest towards Korean studies in the U.S., particularly culture, due to the popularity of K-pop and K-contents. This meeting served as an invaluable opportunity to deepen bilateral relationship between Korea and the U.S. and understand where Korea-U.S. relationship stands at now.

On July 11, Joe McChristian, Jr. Grandson of General James A. Van Fleet, visited the KITA to promote its business activities and share the spirit of General James Van Fleet. The Van Fleet Foundation aims to carry out various activities to pass on General Van Fleet's life and leadership to the current and future generations.

As part of its efforts, the foundation now initiates digitizing documents and photos related to General Van Fleet including correspondence with key figures and conducting seminars and lectures on his leadership.

This year, KITA Chairman Christopher KOO is selected as this year's winner of the Van Fleet award in recognition of his contributions to enhancing Korea-U.S. relationships. To build on these accomplishments, KITA will continue to foster bilateral relationship in various ways.

In the upcoming November, Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum will be held in Turkmenistan, which is anticipated to provide a great opportunity for both countries to share their experiences and policies and seek mutual growth of both nations.

Since establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, Korea and Turkmenistan have constantly maintained economic cooperation with trade volume growing by tenfold in recent years. Due to the COVID-19, there might be some setbacks but Turkmenistan is still considered a key trading partner for Korea.

Given untapped potentials of Turkmenistan, there is a high possibility for further growth in bilateral trade, thereby contributing to the development of relations between both nations. In this regard, Korea and Turkmenistan will further explore ways to promote cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, industry, and technology.

On July 25, AfCFTA Secretariat Secretary-General visited the KITA to explore potential areas for future cooperation between Korea and Africa.

In October last year, KITA invited the African diplomatic missions in Korea to a networking dinner, which was an unforgettable opportunity to deepen relations between Korea and Africa.

Furthermore, African countries are participating in the AfCFTA, forming a massive economic bloc with a population of 1.3 billion and a GDP of $3.4 trillion. The establishment of AfCFTA is predicted to lead to economic growth and higher wages, resulting in a total income increase of 7% ($450 billion) for the African continent. It is forecasted that around 30 million people will be lifted out of extreme poverty by 2035.

In 2024, Korea will host "Korea-Africa Special Summit" and the KITA, as the largest business organization in Korea, will provide full support for successful summit such as hosting of business events such as roundtables or forums.

□ WONTECH Co. Ltd., Chairman Kim Jong Won □

On July 21, KITA co-hosted the 146th Korea’s Leading Exporter Award, which honors outstanding traders with an exceptional performance in exports and business growth at the Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Seoul.

The ceremony was attended by KITA Vice Chairman Jeong Marn-ki, Ministry of Trade, Industry, Energy Director General Park Jaeyoung, Korea Economic Daily Deputy Director Lee Gwan-woo, two awardees and their guests including families, executives and staff members.

After a rigorous evaluation during 2Q, 2023, award was presented to Kim Jong-won, Chairman of Daejeon-based aesthetic and medical equipment company "Won Tech Co., Ltd."

Won Tech Co., Ltd. manufactures aesthetic and medical equipment used in dermatology and plastic surgery with its own laser and energy-based core technologies. Their flagship product, "Picocare," utilizes a laser energy technology that is 1,000 times faster than other competing products, breaking all colors of tattoos and pigments. This product obtained approvals from the Korean MFDA, U.S. FDA, and CE certification in Europe, and has received recognitions from Ministry of Science and ICT as well as the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Since its inception in 1999, Chairman Kim Jong-won has focused on developing new technologies, which translate into successful sales performance in more than 60 countries such as the U.S, China, Europe, and Southeast Asia. In 2022, this company was awarded "$20 Million Export Tower" with over 800 billion won in revenues and more than 200 employees. 

Chairman Kim added that his recent success was an outcome of continued commitment to developing new products and the company would strive to become an exporter of the world's best products just like its catchphrase ‘Let's Go Global First’.

□ Motrex.Co.Ltd., Executive Chair LEE HYOUNGHWAN □

On July 21, KITA co-hosted the 146th Korea’s Leading Exporter Award, which honors outstanding traders with an exceptional performance in exports and business growth at the Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Seoul.

The ceremony was attended by KITA Vice Chairman Jeong Marn-ki, Ministry of Trade, Industry, Energy Director General Park Jaeyoung, Korea Economic Daily Deputy Director Lee Gwan-woo, two awardees and their guests including families, executives and staff members.

After a rigorous evaluation during 2Q, 2023, award was presented to LEE HYOUNGHWAN, Executive Chair of Gyeonggi Province-based auto parts manufacturer Motrex.Co.Ltd.

Motrex Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer that produces state-of-the-art In Vehicle Infotainment ("IVI") products and diverse automotive parts. Its products are supplied to all parts of the world in the form of PIO (Port Installed Option) or DIO (Dealer Installed Option) to meet the demands in different markets and customers after being acknowledged with its fine technology and quality from global vehicle manufacturers. In addition, the company possesses excellent technological capabilities with official certifications for its connectivity technologies such as Apple Car Play and Google Android Auto, enabling bi-directional connection between smartphones and displays.

Chairman LEE HYOUNGHWANfounded Motrex in 2001 based on his 16 years of expertise experience at Hyundai Motor Company. Starting with distribution business of auto parts, he successfully expanded the company's business areas and achieved remarkable export growth. Over the past three years, Motrex has maintained an average export growth rate of 9.1%, and as of 2Q this year and this company achieved an impressive export record of approximately 110.7 million dollars in the last year alone.

He said that this award was especially meaningful in these uncertain and challenging times of the global economy and that the company will continue to make Motrex a leading company, contributing to the country's economic and company growth as " Korea’s Leading Exporter Award.".