KOTRA, local governments team up to boost regional exporters under '5-hub 3-special' strategy

KOTRA is partnering with local governments to expand exports from Korea's regional industries, connecting sectors such as shipbuilding, auto parts, biotech, secondary batteries, energy and content with overseas demand to help local companies go global.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) held the "KOTRA-Local Government Regional Trade Cooperation Forum" on Thursday at Peace & Park Convention in Yongsan, Seoul.

The forum was held under the theme "5 Hubs, 3 Specials: Regional Economies Reaching the World." About 100 people attended, including 75 officials from the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development, 39 local governments and related agencies, along with heads of KOTRA's 14 regional offices and branches.

The government is pursuing a "5-hub 3-special" strategy that promotes tailored regional growth centered on five broad metropolitan zones — the greater Seoul area, the southeastern region, the Daegu-North Gyeongsang region, the central region and the Honam region — along with three special self-governing cities and provinces: Jeju, Gangwon and North Jeolla. With regional growth engines set to be designated in the second half of the year, strengthening the export competitiveness of regional industries has emerged as a key policy priority.

At the forum, Lee Byung-hun, acting chair of the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development, outlined plans to nurture regional growth engines and build innovation ecosystems based on the 5-hub 3-special framework. The ministry's trade policy division presented measures to expand exports of K-consumer goods by small and midsize regional companies and called on local governments for cooperation.

KOTRA laid out strategies to boost exports from regional companies and proposed ways to link each region's key industries with overseas demand. It particularly urged local governments to expand cooperation on its "Export Hope 1000" program, which helps small businesses with little export experience make their first overseas sale.

The Export Hope 1000 program provides selected companies with a one-stop package covering capacity building, overseas marketing, sample logistics costs, certification consulting and follow-up management. KOTRA said it plans to focus on reducing the cost and information barriers that regional companies face in the early stages of export preparation.

The forum also highlighted the use of AI trade support centers. KOTRA operates 20 AI trade support centers nationwide, offering services including overseas market research, buyer identification and export documentation. The agency plans to expand regional trade missions, focusing on emerging markets and countries with strong co-growth potential.

Participants also discussed detailed strategies for matching overseas demand with regional industries. In shipbuilding and auto parts, proposals linked demand for high-value vessels in Southeast Asia and next-generation vehicle transitions in Europe and Japan with the shipbuilding and automotive industries of Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, as well as the auto parts sector in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.

In healthcare and biotech, key opportunities identified included pharmaceutical clusters in Central Asia, health infrastructure development in Africa and the growing medical and biotech market in India. Discussions covered plans to leverage the biotech cluster capabilities of Incheon, Gangwon Province and North Chungcheong Province — including hospital pilot projects in Africa, attracting investment to pharmaceutical complexes in Central Asia and dispatching a medical trade mission to India.

In the green energy sector, opportunities highlighted included the energy transition in the Middle East and Europe and growing demand for power grid expansion to support AI data centers in Southeast Asia. KOTRA said it would strengthen cooperation between its overseas network and local governments to help secondary battery companies in Daejeon, Sejong and South Chungcheong Province, and energy companies in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province and South Gyeongsang Province, participate in overseas projects.

In consumer goods and content, expanding entry into overseas distribution networks by leveraging K-brand recognition was identified as a key challenge. Proposals called for helping consumer goods companies nationwide — including ICT and content firms in Gyeonggi Province — secure shelf space in overseas retail channels and follow through with promotional activities. A co-entry model in which domestic distributors and regional companies expand abroad together was also discussed.

In the afternoon session, local governments presented their regional trade issues and cooperation priorities. Heads of six KOTRA regional offices shared new collaborative projects and successful cooperation cases, and discussed ways to expand joint initiatives with local governments.

KOTRA said it plans to increase tailored programs connecting each region's leading industries with overseas demand. Under the model, local governments identify promising companies in their regions, while KOTRA supports them through its overseas trade offices and regional branches with buyer matching, market intelligence, business consultations and trade missions.

"Expanding exports from regional companies is an essential strategy for balanced national development and achieving $1 trillion in exports," KOTRA President Kang Gyeong-seong said. "We will do our utmost to connect the 5-hub 3-special growth engines and each region's leading industries with specialized overseas demand, and to deliver results for regional exporters."