Realizing Strong Trading Nation
By strengthening electronic trade system throughout world

KTNET has been in the search for new income sources by exploring the new business areas, which led to the launch of three new services in four months leading to December last year including barohard, roaming and WebERP services.
Barohard service, which has been drawing many customers since its opening on July 1, roaming service, which was launched on Oct. 15, attracting good responses and KTNET ERP service, which was reborn as a web base for innovative management on Nov. 1 can be called as the new threesome services.
Barohard, the first new service launched among the three new services, has already over 1,000 ID subscribers, giving chances for KTNET to make intensive niche assaults on Dacom and KT, the two front-runners in the existing Webhard market.
KTNET will also try to expand the market for its roaming service to customers that need the service such as trading companies and tourist firms with active marketing strategies because customers can use phone numbers at home directly from overseas locations without going through the exchange.
The late starter ERP service will be targeted at small firms that don't have means to set up the ERP facilities for its customers. The company will play up the fact that it's the ASP method Wed base in its marketing effort focusing on its convenience, especially.
Yoo Chang-moo, president of KTNET, said the electronic trade has been introduced to reduce unnecessary overhead expenses in connection with the international trade by improving unnecessary process, which has been increasing along with the growth in trading scale. He claimed the electronic trade is no longer a strange word; It is not only being used in the trading community, but also has been included in the subjects taught at universities.
Especially in 2004, the electronic trade was adopted as an important matter as part of the government plan to set up electronic system in government offices including the Commerce, Industry and Energy Ministry and the National Tax Service, along with KOTRA, financial institutions, and the Korea International Trade Association. KTNET has been authorized to build e-trade platforms at those institutions.
The system has become an important facility to upgrade cooperation between countries in the age of globalization as seen in the fact that President Roh Moo-hyun and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed to expand the bilateral trade relations through the electronic trade in their summit meeting.
KTNET was invited to participate in the project to modernize the customs administration in Kazakhstan in October last year, which was the first case for KTNET to export its system. As such, the system has been facilitating the international trade for Korea to rank the 10th largest trading country in the world, making great contribution to Korea's exports. But, the KTNET president said there several factors that should considered in further improving the system. One is the electronic trade should not be limited to domestic use only and something that needs the government permit to use it. It should be used in procuring commodities, production, and distribution. It should be used in most phases of commercial transactions including ones with final customers.
Second, the current electronic trade infrastructure construction should draw more attention and participation. It needs pan-national support with the system recognized by such prestigious international organization as the APEC for its worth as an international automatic trade system.
Since the system would make a country's international trade competitive, it should be accorded with more systematic and concentrated support, which becomes more so for Korea, which is trying to be a hub for logistics in Northeast Asia. Korea needs to build a comprehensive trade, logistics network in particular with Hong Kong jumping into the race by launching its digital trade and logistics network from the end of last year.
Yoo concluded by saying that the electronic trade would be a guide to lead Korea to achieve its ambition to become the 8th largest trading nation in the world by 2010. nw

Yoo Chang-moo, president of KTNET