The Korea Federation of Textile Industries (KOFOTI) hosted the 10th Textile and Fashion Industry CEO Forum on May 30 and June 1 at the Lotte Hotel on Jeju Island in an effort to promote cooperation among different streams, and information exchange, cooperation, and support in other areas in the industry, KOFOTI said. About 400 leaders in the industry and related government officials attended the event led by Vice Minister Yoon Sang-jick and Chairman Lee Hee-beom of the Korea Management Association.

Speakers included Chairman Ro who made an opening speech at the annual event; President Lee Young-kwan of Toray Korea who spoke of Toray’ s high-tech textiles, its global sales, and the green growth strategy; MKE Vice Minister Yoon who spoke on the future of the Korean economy; and President Dieter Eichinger of Lenzing Korea on leaders of the textile industry’ s reform, possible sustainable growth, and trends in the global textile industry.

Chairman Lee Hee-beom of the Korea Management Association and chairman of STX Heavy Industries delivered a speech on the global and Korean economies. Sideline events included a welcoming dinner, the Eco Tech Forum, a round of golf and angling for the KOFOTI Chairman Championship Cup, mountain hiking, and trekking the Olleh track, among other leisure programs.

In the meantime, KOFOTI will hold the Preview in Seoul 2012 from Sept. 5-7 at the B Hall of COEX in southern Seoul to feature the latest Korean textile products to spur their exports and domestic sales.

The products on display will include environmentally friendly textile materials with high-function, well-being and recyclable products that are competitive and in high demand in the global textile market. Other products will include smart textiles, fashion IT, fashion textile design, raw threads, fabrics, fibers, and support materials.

The annual event will have a number of special exhibition booths such as the Trend Forum Booth, which is a hall to help buyers take advantage of the Korea-U.S. and Korea-EU FTAs, the Daegu DMC, and others, to provide a wide choice for buyers.

The Secretary’ s Office of KOFOTI will employ cooperation with KOTRA’ s overseas offices, the Shanghai Overseas Trade Exhibition Co. in China, regional clothing makers in China, and large sales channels and sourcing managers of well-known fashion brands to attract as many foreign companies and buyers to the show in Seoul, KOFOTI said.

The Korea-EU FTA and the Korea-U.S. FTA are expected to bring a large number of buyers from Europe and the United States, as their interest in Korean textile products has been high, so KOFOTI will try to bring a large number of apparel makers and sourcing managers of global fashion brands to the event.

KOFOTI will try to make the Preview in Seoul 2012 an opportunity for realistic business exchange through diverse side events such as a seminar for both domestic and overseas fashion houses and pre-arranged agreements for business matching.

Vice Chairman Kim Dong-soo of KOFOTI said the 13th Preview in Seoul this year will be an occasion to reconfirm the prestige of the textile event as a global one. He has high expectations for it since it is the first event for the industry to be held since the Korea-U.S. FTA went into force in March.

For firms interested in participating in Preview in Seoul 2012, contact the KOFOTI Marketing Office at 02-528-4019.