Minister for Trade Dukgeun Ahn attended the Digital Trade International Conference 2022 hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) on December 12 at COEX in Seoul, held under the theme of “Opportunities and Challenges of Digital Trade.”
Various digital trade experts from the World Trade Organization (WTO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other international bodies, universities, research institutions and law firms gathered at the conference to exchange views on the digital transformation, rapid shifts occurring across the global trade landscape and future course and tasks.
Approximately 300 persons participated in the discussions, composed of industry and academia experts, students and the general public.
Trade Minister Ahn noted the intense competition for data and digital trade hegemony among major countries in this digital transition age, and emphasized that digital trade is an important future agenda for Korea, as it determines the nation’s industrial competitiveness. He proposed the following five key policy directions Korea must pursue in order to grow into a digital trade powerhouse.
1) Active promotion of Korea’s interests in “global rule setting”
2) Strategic expansion of the digital trade network
3) Efforts to improve the domestic digital trade regulation system
4) Enhancing the capacity of SMEs and startups for the digital trade era
5) Strengthening specialized human resources for digital trade and bolstering public-private collaboration
The trade chief assessed that establishment of the Korea-Singapore Digital Partnership Agreement (KSDPA) is a foothold for Korean digital companies’ entrance into the ASEAN market, as Singapore is the ASEAN region’s digital hub.
He added that the Korea-EU Digital Trade Principles agreed on November 30 will also serve to further discussions on measures to modernize Korea-EU FTA’s e-commerce trade rules.
Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy