Kim Ki-moon, President of the 23rd World Korean Business Congress

Significance of the second edition in the U.S.
Large number of SMEs participated
Export Support ‘Mutual Win-Win’

“This year, the 23rd World Korean Business Congress, will be the first year of building the ‘Global Korean Economic Area’”

Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (KSSE), which will host the 23rd World Korean Business Congress (formerly known as the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry) from April 17-20 in Atlanta, Georgia, said in an interview on April 26, “We will do our best to help small and medium-sized enterprises achieve tangible results in overseas expansion.”

Kim was honorary chairman of the 21st edition of the event in Anaheim, Orange County, in 2023, and was praised for leading the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, the host organization, to the largest and most successful event ever. At the convention, Kim expressed his ambition to create concrete results through a global business network centered on Korean entrepreneurs, trade, investment, and joint projects to build a global Korean-American economic zone.

“We will discover and select excellent SME products and utilize the Hansang network, which is a network of local salespeople around the world, to explore export markets,” Kim said. ”We will also provide matching opportunities with buyers from large retailers such as Walmart and Costco to achieve practical support.”

At the 21st edition of the event, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises set up a 60-booth KBIZ pavilion, the largest among the 650 booths set up by domestic and foreign companies. “This year, we plan to expand the KBIZ pavilion to more than 80 booths,” he said. “We are also preparing about 90 booths for the Nonghyup and Sukhoe Cooperative.”

In addition to businesses, Korean local governments have also signed up to participate in the largest number ever. “We will have a total of 204 booths from 15 local governments,” he said, adding that many local governors, including the governors of Gyeongbuk and Chungcheongbuk-do, are participating in person. The event is not just for Korean-American businesspeople, Kim said, but also for the commerce ministers of 16 states.

In addition to establishing Atlanta as a hub for the Korean-American business community, the organization also plans to use the event as an opportunity to solidify cooperation with the new Trump administration.

Mr. Kim is a self-made entrepreneur who founded Jayestina (formerly Romansohn) and built it into a mid-sized company that sells watches, jewelry, and cosmetics. Kim was elected as the 27th president in 2023 for the fourth time, following the 23rd and 24th (2007-2014) and 26th (2019-2022), and will lead the mid-term central committee until 2027.

Source: The Korea Times Atlanta

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