China, US, Japan, Vietnam in focus

One-on-one video consultations over 3 weeks follow October seminar

Logistics costs covered for companies landing first export deal

Regional, small-business, women- and youth-led firms to get priority

KOTRA's Yangjae headquarters. [KOTRA]
KOTRA's Yangjae headquarters. [KOTRA]

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency is stepping in to guide small and medium-sized enterprises that have never sold abroad through every stage of the export process — from certifications and customs clearance to finding overseas buyers and arranging logistics. The agency plans to focus on China, the United States, Japan and Vietnam as entry points for first-time exporters, while broadening the base of exporting companies to include regional and youth-led firms.

KOTRA announced Monday it will run the "2026 First Step to Exports Week," a program designed to help domestic-market companies and early-stage exporters break into overseas markets.

The program opens with an online export-preparation seminar on Oct. 14. Export-related agencies will participate to walk companies through the certifications, customs procedures and logistics requirements needed to enter foreign markets.

KOTRA will also deploy its network of 20 AI Trade Support Centers nationwide. The centers will help companies with limited overseas marketing experience or specialist staff use AI tools to produce promotional materials such as export-ready product images.

Buyer matchmaking begins in earnest on Oct. 26. Over three weeks, KOTRA will arrange intensive one-on-one video consultations between South Korean companies and overseas buyers, concentrating on China, the United States, Japan and Vietnam.

Companies targeting markets outside those four countries can tap KOTRA's overseas trade offices to identify business partners elsewhere. Firms that go on to sign contracts and complete exports will also receive support for logistics costs through KOTRA's overseas joint distribution centers.

The program is open to companies with no export track record or those in the early stages of entering overseas markets. Priority will be given to firms based outside the Greater Seoul area, and small businesses, social enterprises, social ventures, and women- and youth-led companies will receive preferential treatment during the selection process.

The main product categories targeted are consumer goods such as food and cosmetics. The program focuses on identifying companies that have established product competitiveness in the domestic market but have been unable to export due to a lack of overseas sales networks or local business contacts.

Company C, a youth-led firm that produces processed food using locally grown agricultural products, said it was confident in its products but found it difficult as a small operation to find buyers on its own, adding that it hoped for more opportunities to take on overseas markets.

KOTRA said a broader goal of the program is to diversify South Korea's overall export structure, not just help individual companies make their first sale abroad. With exports currently concentrated in a handful of key sectors, the agency aims to grow overseas sales of consumer goods and small and medium-sized enterprises to widen the range of export products and companies.

South Korea's total exports reached $98.25 billion in August, up 68.7 percent from the same month a year earlier. Semiconductor exports alone hit a record $46.7 billion, and growth in specific industries drove much of the overall gain. The share of ICT products in total exports also climbed to 61.0 percent.

KOTRA President Kang Gyeong-seong said first-time exporters need to be nurtured into companies shipping $1 million and then $10 million worth of goods abroad, forming a thick "export middle class." He added that the program would support domestic-market and novice companies in entering and growing in overseas markets, while expanding the participation of firms with strong potential — including regional and youth-led businesses — to broaden both the base and the range of players driving South Korea's exports.


kwater@heraldcorp.com