KOTRA names ex-Cheong Wa Dae official as new CEO

By Baek Byung-yeul

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said Thursday that Yu Jeong-yeol, who served as chief of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's industrial policy office and secretary for industrial policy at Cheong Wa Dae, took office as its new CEO.

The new CEO succeeds former chief Kwon Pyung-oh, who retired on May 17 after completing his three-year term. Yu earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering at Seoul National University and another master's degree in public administration at Harvard University.

During an inauguration ceremony held at the agency's headquarters in Seoul, the new CEO emphasized the agency's mission to help Korean firms find more business opportunities in the post-COVID-19 era.

“Now we are experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic that has shaken our lives and business environment. We have a mission of the times to make global business trends an opportunity factor rather than a threat to our companies,” Yu said.

To achieve that goal, Yu suggested his vision as the new chief of the state-run agency by achieving digital transformation of its export support system, actively responding to the reorganization of the global value chain, preparing for global carbon neutrality and digital workspace trends and responding preemptively to new trade policies.

He especially stressed the need for digital transformation, saying “the global social-distancing trend has become irreversible.”

“We are going to go all-out to achieve a digital transformation so that we can contribute to achieving an annual export value of $700 billion and increase the number of export companies to over 120,000 as soon as possible,” the CEO said.

Additionally, Yu said the agency will strengthen cooperation with other public institutions and companies to become a leading agency in the post-COVID-19 era when it has become essential to achieve digital transformation.