Vice Chairman Kim Jung-kwan  of the Korea International Trade Association.(KITA). (Photo: KITA)

Vice Chairman Kim Jung-kwan of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said on May 31 that one of the best ways to create jobs in the country would be to help SMEs expand their exports, calling on the government to provide support so they can create more jobs.

The KITA vice chairman quoted a KITA survey showing that 8.23 persons found jobs when the nation’s exports increased by $1 million. The survey showed that the exports are still a very reliable means to boost the number of jobs in the country, although of late public attention on the international trade shifted with an outcry to spurring the domestic economy to create jobs stealing newspapers’ front pages.

The vice chairman said if exports increase by 10 percent, 400,000 new jobs would be created when you take a detailed look into what the exports can do in terms of job creation. As of the end of April this year, exports rose 17.2 percent YoY to $18.3 billion and it turned out that jobs with companies engaged in foreign trade are more secure and of better quality than those provided by domestic business oriented firms, the KITA vice chairman said.

The government had better take measures to boost its support to SME exporters to spur their exports so they can create more jobs while its main support is being directed toward the public companies to create jobs, the KITA vice chairman said.

Kim also said the government should try to turn purely domestic-oriented firms to start exporting their products and services overseas to turn them into export firms, and spurring the activities of export agencies.

The government should focus on turning domestic-oriented firms into export firms to increase jobs to boost exports aimed at the growth of the economy as a model, which can be made only when government support is provided over the entire process of turning domestic companies into exporters.

He said KITA has helped 1,000 domestic firms export their products, out of which some 317 of them successfully shipped their products overseas. Those firms shipped some $31.13 million worth of products overseas in the Jan.-Nov. period last year.

With no means to participate in overseas exhibitions, those domestic firms rely on export agencies as they have international trade experts who worked for such international trade firms as Samsung and LG for more than 20 years. There are some 200 such registered agents in the country ready to help domestic firms at any time.

Kim also called on the government to boost support to export agencies in terms of funds to expand their overseas activities, especially the exploration of overseas markets for Korean products and services. He pointed out that government support has been directed toward manufacturers, exempting the export agencies from those government support. They need as much government support as those provided to manufacturers so that they would be able to explore overseas markets for Korean goods and provide assistances to the Korean firms to boost their exports, the KITA vice chairman said.

According to the OECD, South Korea recorded an economic growth rate of 0.9 percent in the first quarter of this year after 0.5 percent in the previous quarter. During the same period, the average economic growth rate of OECD member countries dropped from 0.7 percent to 0.4 percent. The member countries’ average growth rate had been 0.4 percent in Q1 and Q2, 2016 and 0.5 percent in the following quarter.

According to the Bank of Korea, South Korea’s total exports edged down by 0.1 percent in Q4, 2016 but increased by 1.9 percent in Q1 this year, when its capital expenditure and construction investment jumped by 4.3 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.