Kim Young-joo, who was officially elected as the new chairman of the Korea International Trade Association on Thursday, said he would focus on helping Korea’s small and medium-sized enterprises thrive on a global level. 

“Korea’s SMEs account for a small share of exports compared to other advanced countries,” said Kim, during a press conference held at the InterContinental Seoul Coex on Thursday.

“We will seek various support measures to enable SMEs and start-up companies to enter the global market,” he continued. “We will also propose a policy to encourage our member companies to diversify their exports to countries like ASEAN nations, as well as proposing policies to enhance export competitiveness of high value sectors such as biotechnology and medical services.”

Kim served as Korea’s trade minister from 2007 to 2008 and took part in helping ratify the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, which is currently awaiting its first round of amendment negotiation talks. FTA revision talks are being launched per US President Donald Trump’s request, who has called the deal unsuccessful. Bilateral negotiations are expected to start as soon as next month.

KITA’s new leader voiced his support for the trade agreement, saying it was economically rewarding for both nations.

“Following the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, South Korea and the United States have grown dramatically considering the global slump in trade. Korea’s trade surplus has increased and its investment in the US has more than tripled,” Kim said.

The chairman added that he supports the new government’s innovation growth strategy and would strengthen communication between the government and KITA’s roughly 70,000 member companies to strive to make Korea better for businesses.

Kim’s appointment comes following the association’s former head, Kim In-ho, tendering his resignation last month, four months prior to the of his term in February, citing clashing views with the Moon Jae-in’s administration economic blueprint for the country.

The former chairman revealed that he received a message from the government asking him to resign from his post. 

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)