Bronze Medal for KOIMA Chairman

Dr. Kim’s leadership role in association’s achievements in int’l trade recognized at Trade Day ceremony

Chairman Kim Wan-hee of the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) came away with the Industrial Merit Bronze Medal at the 46th Trade Day ceremony held at COEX in southern Seoul for his contribution to the national economy while serving in various positions with KOIMA.
Chairman Kim, who is also the chairman of Trico Co., became chairman of the association in 2007 when he was head of the union of the association’s subcommittees from 2004 to 2007.
His services with the association have been outstanding in the area of keeping import costs low for various raw materials imported by domestic companies and their supplies stable. He achieved this by constantly dispatching the association’s trade missions to key exporters of raw materials and trading countries such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Israel, Tunisia, Algeria, China, Taiwan, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the United States, Canada, Hungary, Slovakia and others to improve civilian-level trade relations with those countries and for more balanced trade relations.
The association’s activities have won the government’s support in recognition of its importance to the nation’s economic and diplomatic relations with those countries as well as the support of those countries’ governments and media for KOIMA’s trade missions.
The association sent its officials to accompany the nation’s chief executives on their tours overseas and explained to exporters in the host countries the scale of Korea’s import market and the ways to sell goods and services to Korea.
The trade missions tried to build a strong image of Korea for the businesses in foreign countries and give them good impressions of Korea in general.
The association made sure to explain Korea’s trade policies to foreign countries and the association’s roles, especially Korea’s efforts to open its market to foreign goods and services, at the various overseas forums and seminars it was invited to attend.
The citation letter for Kim’s achievement also said the chairman managed to set up meetings between foreign embassies in Seoul with Korean importers to discuss trade matters including the new trade deals over commodities and services. The association also invited officials in charge of foreign trade in emerging countries to Seoul to take various courses in trade promotion and other economic matters such as the process of economic development as experienced by Korea during its rapid growth. The move has been taken to make contributions to the emerging countries in the areas of economy, trade and others and at the same time to let them see where Korea stands in the world, boosting its image so that its friendly and cooperative relations with the emerging countries may be strengthened.
KOIMA Chairman Kim met Karim Massimov, the prime minister of Kazakhstan, and talked about ways to promote trade and interactive exchange between both countries on June 17, 2009, during his visit to Kazakhstan.
Chairman Kim said that there are many possible fields of cooperation between Korea, a nation on the verge of becoming one of the top 10 exporting countries based on superior technology, and Kazakhstan, an important emerging economy with abundant resources. He also pointed out that it is the role of the two countries’ entrepreneurs to discover and develop these numerous opportunities.
Kim also affirmed plans to dispatch a purchasing mission to Central Asia including the countries of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan this coming September. He said he earnestly expects this mission to be a big step toward expanding trade between Korea and Central Asian countries.
With the arrival of the 21st century, countries around the world are engaged in the common pursuit of prosperity through international trade in attempts to overcome obstacles such as national borders and differences in politics and religious ideology. The world has entered an era of unprecedented economic liberalization and independence, he said in his statement on the association’s website.
Kim continued to say that Korea has actively participated in these changes. Guided by the belief in reciprocity and mutual understanding, it has forged trade relations with over 180 trading partners across the globe. Korea is constantly adapting to the challenges inherent in change and growth. nw

Chairman Kim Wan-hee of the Korea Importers Association.