Export Plus Support Team holds export promotion meeting in South Gyeongsang Province; information sessions on export finance and overseas certification planned for Oct. 8 and Oct. 22

Ministry of Economy and Finance [Yonhap]
Ministry of Economy and Finance [Yonhap]

The government is establishing a standing cooperation framework with South Gyeongsang Province to help local exporters navigate on-the-ground challenges, including overseas certification requirements and workforce shortages. A series of information sessions on export finance and overseas technical regulations and certification will also be held for companies in the South Gyeongsang and Busan areas.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance's Export Plus Support Team said Wednesday it held a "regional export promotion cooperation meeting" with South Gyeongsang Province at Gyeongnam Technopark to discuss tailored export support measures. The meeting was convened to establish a standing channel for communication and cooperation between the central and local governments in support of regional exporters.

At the meeting, participants from Gyeongnam Technopark and the Gyeongnam Export Club called for stronger inter-agency cooperation to resolve corporate difficulties, as well as better support for overseas certification and workforce recruitment for local firms. The support team introduced regional certification guidance from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's overseas certification support unit, measures to support young workers employed at local small and medium-sized enterprises, and a real-time channel for submitting grievances.

Kim In-su, director general of the South Gyeongsang Province economy and trade bureau, said export conditions for local companies have grown increasingly difficult amid logistics and energy instability stemming from the war in the Middle East and the spread of protectionism, and pledged to work closely with the central government to bolster export support.

In conjunction with the meeting, the support team has also organized information sessions for exporters in the South Gyeongsang and Busan regions. The first, an export finance program briefing, will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Busan Trade Center. Policy finance institutions — including the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and the Industrial Bank of Korea — will introduce their export finance programs and offer one-on-one consultations. The session is designed to help local companies that struggle to access financial support information and use available programs.

On Oct. 22, a joint information session on overseas technical regulations and certification in the shipbuilding and machinery sectors will be held at the same venue, co-organized with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's overseas certification support unit. The session will provide comprehensive support information — including consulting programs and a technical regulation information portal — to help exporters obtain overseas certifications, one of the most commonly cited challenges they face.

Bae Jeong-hun, deputy head of the Export Plus Support Team, said rapid response to on-the-ground needs is critical as the trade environment changes quickly and corporate difficulties grow more complex and varied. He said the team will continue to open and expand cooperation channels with South Gyeongsang Province and other local governments.

"It is important for the government and related agencies to make the effort to go directly to local companies, which tend to have more difficulty accessing information," Bae said. "We will continue to hold regional export finance program briefings and overseas technical regulation and certification sessions."


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