• KOREAN MEDICAL
  DEVICE MAKERS GEAR
  UP TO ENTER THE
  AMERICAS
•    From August 8 to 10, the Florida International Medical Expo (FIME) 2017 was held in Orlando, Florida. At the event, KOTRA launched the Korean Pavilion, consisting of 46 Korean small and medium medical device manufac-turers. Welcoming 1,650 exhibitors from over 40 countries, the largest medical trade fair across the Americas offered networking opportunities for global buyers and Korean suppliers wanting to enter the North, Central and South American markets. KOTRA
  
• hosted seminars and side events including an exhibition showcasing Korea’s cutting-edge products, which were well-received by local buyers.
     The United States is the world’s largest medical device market valued at about USD 149.1 billion (KRW 159.9 trillion) as of 2015. Demand for medical devices has been steadily growing in Latin America, due to its aging demographics and rising income as well as the expansion of large-scale hospital construction projects.

• JOB FAIRS HOSTED IN
  AUSTRALIA AND
  NEW ZEALAND
  
•    On August 9, KOTRA kicked off a major job fair in Australia and New Zealand. During the event, Korean job seekers were able to engage in video job interviews and find jobs in the wider Oceania region. The job fair was also comprised of informative seminars on visa issues, employment processes and strategies to land a job overseas. Around 270 Korean jobseekers attended the event, and a total of 88 job vacancies from 40 companies were available at the
• recruitment fair.
     According to officials, Australian companies were highly interested in Korean applicants. Such a high demand for Korean workforce was attributed to Asia’s growing population, the surge in global popularity of Korean culture and the high reputation of Korea’s workforce. Currently, there are over 22,000 Koreans who are working in Australia as part of the working holiday program.

• KOTRA EXPLORES
  NICHE MARKETS FOR
  CONSUMER GOODS
  EXPORT
•    On August 16 and 17, KOTRA held a series of seminars and consultation sessions on entering the overseas online and offline retail market. To find a niche market and increase exports of consumer goods, the agency invited buyers from China, 25 major vendors from Oceania and 150 Korean small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to its Seoul headquarters.
     The event provided opportunities for domestic SMEs to deepen their under-standing of the retail markets in China and Oceania and explore new business partners. The seminars consisted of
• informative sessions about rising consumer trends and popular Korean products, including cosmetics.
     “Despite rosy prospects for China and Oceania markets, their potential is yet to be discovered by Korean companies,” said Dooyoung Kim, KOTRA’s executive vice president for strategic business. He explained that KOTRA will continue to explore new prospective markets and strengthen networking with local distribution chains so that Korean suppliers can make inroads into new markets.

• KOTRA COMMISSION ON
  JOB CREATION SETS SAIL
•    KOTRA launched the Committee on Job Creation consisting of 20 executive members, union representatives and heads of overseas offices. Under the leadership of President and CEO Jaehong Kim, the Commission held its first meeting on August 17 where its key direction and major agendas were mainly discussed.
     Officials announced that KOTRA needs to press with its plan to create 110,000 direct job opportunities by helping SMEs find talent and export opportunities. Various ideas were also shared on how KOTRA can take full advantage in the fields of market entry and investment promotion to create more jobs. KOTRA predicts that over 1 million jobs can be generated
• in the next five years through its existing export assistance services, and plans to develop its own performance metrics to make progress.
     In line with the new administration’s economic agendas focusing on tackling unemployment, Jaehong Kim stated that the agency will make efforts not only to boost direct employment but also to build an export-friendly business environment. “We need to take bold action to share information with the private sector and carry out more public-private joint projects. The Commission will play a crucial role in transforming the agency from a global business platform into a global platform for job creation,” said Kim.