President Yoon Suk-yeol participated in a ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Trade Day and gave words of encouragement to businessmen with a challenging spirit and passion.
President Yoon, stressing his role as chief executive with business sales diplomacy, vowed to purse regulatory reform and strike free trade agreements to expand the “business turf” of Korean companies.
He also revealed his determination to diversify export items, support service exports and nurturing future export pioneer youth and SMEs and ventures.
In his speech at the Trade Day anniversary at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, on Dec. 5, President Yoon gave words of encouragement to trade businessmen who contributed to transitioning to exports, despite hard conditions.
“The history of our trade for the past 60 years is the history of Korea’s economic development itself,” he said.
President Yoon presided over export strategy meetings in five occasions and offered full support to Korean companies’ exports and market exploration by carrying out economic sales diplomacy by meeting with the heads of about 90 countries in over 150 occasions.
President Yoon decorated 10 people with orders and other government prizes, including President Sohn Bo-ik of LX Semicon, who was honored with the Order of Industrial Service Merit, Gold Tower, and also presented 10 people, including President Chang Jae-hoon of Hyundai Motor, with export tower awards.
A combed 596 people were decorated with merit awards while 1,704 companies were presented with export tower awards.
KITA Chmn. Koo Calls for Endless Efforts to Explore New Businesses
In his speech at the anniversary event, Chairman Christopher Koo of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) stressed the need for endless challenging beyond boundaries among industries to create new business opportunities.
“As the world has changed fast, giving priority to one’s own national interests, our trade needs to find new growth paths through qualitative growth,” Chairman Koo said.
“This year, our trade is faced with lots of unpredictable hardships, and amid the sagging global trade, economic blocks of each national interests, supply chain risks, and conflicts among nations have weakened the global economy, with the export sector facing more hard times than any time in the past,” he said.
Prior to the anniversary event, President Yoon observed the 60-year history of trade at an exhibition hall beside the anniversary event venue.
The exhibition showcased Korea’ first TV, the Pony car, 64K DRAM wafer and other items for each period.
Among the meaningful documents on economic development were the first comprehensive export promotion policy book in the 1960s and plans to promote each industry, such as automobile, shipbuilding and electronics. Approximately 1,000 people were present at the anniversary event.
Among those on hand were heads of economic organizations, including Chairman Christopher Koo of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Bang Moon-kyu, Lee Kwan-sup, senior presidential secretary for policy planning, and Presidential Senior Economic Affairs Secretary Park Chun-sup.
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