Infrastructure, consumer and e-commerce were the keywords at the 2017 Forum on Global Market Entry Strategies. Held on January 10 at COEX InterContinental Hotel in Seoul, the event took place to help Korean SMEs boost their exports amid the recent slump in exports. The meeting, which is in its 18th year, kicked off with an opening speech by Jaehong Kim, CEO and President of KOTRA, followed by a congratulatory remarks by Cheong Man-ki, Vice Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy.
   “Korea’s export environment will get better this year compared to last year,” said Kim, who pledged to identify new opportunities in each market, deploy tailored marketing strategies, actively support consumer good and service industries and respond to new ways of trade so that SMEs and corporations of middle standing can boost their exports.
   Approximately 500 industry insiders participated at the meeting, which invited director generals from KOTRA’s 10 regional headquarters. The director generals presented on key economic issues and market entry strategies for companies seeking to expand their business on an international scale. As the income for the middle class continues to grow in major markets like the United States, China and India, the demand for

consumer goods and subsequently the need for premium goods are also increasing. Thus, utilizing e-commerce technologies, the Korean Wave and Korea’s comprehensive FTA network will be the key to expanding exports in these markets.
   At the forum, Jongchoon Kim, Regional Director General for North America, stated that because America's highly-educated middle class is growing, tapping into newly rising markets, including on/offline distribution markets and government procurement markets, is vital. “For the distribution market, we need to more closely cooperate with purchasing managers of headquarters and power vendors, among others. We can also indirectly enter the government procurement market by working with preferred government subcontractors,” said Kim.
    Along with the United States, China is another country that is strengthening economic ties with Korea. Thus, the forum stressed that

Korea should more efficiently utilize the Korea-China FTA to meet the demand of the Chinese market, which is Korea’s largest export market. Gwangyoung Chung, Regional Director General for China, stressed the importance of urgently responding to the needs of newly rising Chinese consumers in the premium goods market. He suggested examining new consumption trends in order to read such needs; for instance, utilizing power bloggers and O2O (Online to Offline) services.
   Chung also emphasized that Korea can enter the consumer goods market with the help of growing online distribution channels and the Korean Wave in the Southeast Asian markets, where exports and investment are increasing rapidly, as well as the Southwest Asian market, where remarkable economic growth is taking place. The Middle East, Central America, and Africa are also expected to see an increase in domestic demand thanks to the growing middle class,

newly rising consumer groups and changing trends.
   The presenters noted the rise of the ecommerce industry and its impact on the global market. The market size of the ecommerce industry is fast increasing in Europe, Japan, India, China, Southeast Asia and Central America. According to e-Marketer, the global e-commerce market recorded USD 1.3 trillion in 2014, and it is expected to reach USD 3.4 trillion by 2019.
    Furthermore, participants commented on the importance of strengthened infrastructure. “The political situation in the Middle East is becoming more stable. We thus need to diversify our export channels for infrastructure projects and relevant materials,” says Yongsuk Kwon, Regional Director General for the Middle East. “We should increase our investment in small and medium-sized plant construction projects in response to industry diversification policies of Middle Eastern countries, while focusing on mega projects such as the 2020 Dubai Expo.”
    Other countries are also set to invest in infrastructure development this year. The United States will assign USD 1 trillion to infrastructure development, whereas countries in Eastern Europe will carry out various infrastructure projects with EU Funds. Africa is a promising export market for Korea when it comes to small and medium-sized plant construction projects, as well as manufacturing equipment.
    In addition, participants called for Korea to proactively engage in cooperation with international policies. For instance, as the Indian government is pursuing the “Make in India” policy with an aim to nurture the country’s manufacturing industry, Korea can increase its exports to India in the parts and machine industries. At the same time, the two contries can cooperate to build smart cities. Korea must also prepare for a change in China, as it is expected to improve the competitiveness of its manufacturing industry with China Manufacturing 2025.