A view of KOTRA's headquarters in Yangjae, Seoul [KOTRA]
A view of KOTRA's headquarters in Yangjae, Seoul [KOTRA]

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said Tuesday it held an "Export Diversification Strategy Meeting" at its headquarters in Yangjae, Seoul, with all executives in attendance and presided over by its president. The meeting was convened to discuss concrete strategies and action plans for export diversification, a priority underscored at the presidential policy briefing for ministries and key public institutions held Aug. 4.

South Korea's exports surpassed $700 billion for the first time in history in 2025, and this year have continued to set monthly all-time records for 14 consecutive months through July, reflecting sustained growth. Even so, the concentration of exports in specific regions and product categories poses a vulnerability in a rapidly shifting global trade environment, making the push to diversify exports and restructure trade patterns increasingly urgent.

KOTRA has been running a range of projects in the first half of this year to expand exports in non-semiconductor sectors — including consumer goods and biotech — and to broaden market reach. The agency operates dedicated certification desks at 20 overseas trade offices to address the three main hurdles facing Korean consumer goods exporters: certification, logistics and marketing. It has also expanded support for overseas shared logistics centers. Overseas trade fairs and trade missions held in emerging markets alone numbered 43 in the first half, with their share of total missions rising to more than half.

Through Tuesday's strategy meeting, KOTRA resolved to accelerate diversification across exporters, product categories, markets and methods in the second half of 2026. To broaden the base of export participants, the agency plans to expand programs that cultivate domestic-market companies into new exporters, support export beginners in growing into mid-tier exporters, and develop 500 global export star companies with annual exports of $10 million or more over five years. KOTRA will also expand AI trade support center services — available at 20 centers nationwide — to 250 small regional companies that lack export infrastructure, boosting their digital export capabilities.

On product diversification, KOTRA has drawn up plans to expand exports in consumer goods and services riding the hallyu wave, defense industries whose battlefield performance has been proven, and the biotech and power equipment sectors. A consumer goods and retail network co-entry project launched with 13 retail platforms in the first half is now focused on generating results, with pop-up stores and promotional events recently held in the United States and Europe. A public-private joint Team Korea defense mission is also being actively operated.

To expand export markets, KOTRA plans to concentrate hallyu expos, trade missions and overseas trade fairs in emerging partner markets — including Latin America, the Commonwealth of Independent States and India — on top of the four core markets of China, the United States, ASEAN and the EU, to support Korean companies' exports. The agency will also pursue measures to sharply improve Korean companies' export accessibility using AI technology, and expand online export support including reverse cross-border e-commerce through e-commerce platforms.

"We will bring together the full capabilities of KOTRA's overseas trade office network spanning 132 locations in 86 countries, along with our headquarters and regional support offices, and devote every effort to the quantitative and qualitative growth of Korean exports," KOTRA President Kang Gyeong-seong said. "We will lead the way in realizing an irreplaceable export Korea by achieving the goals of $1 trillion in exports and a top-four export nation ranking at the earliest possible date through our export diversification strategy."

Meanwhile, KOTRA has been pursuing a range of activities to support Korean consumer goods companies' global expansion, including a recently launched program with Walmart — the world's largest retailer — that provides end-to-end support covering entry into Walmart's online marketplace, logistics and marketing, under the "KOTRA-Walmart Global Online Distribution Network Power Seller Development Project."


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