KOTRA Expands and Reorganizes Nationwide 'Digital Trade Support Centers' into 'AI Trade Centers'

An outpost will be established to enhance the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in export support systems for local businesses.

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced on the 25th that, with the opening of the 'Gangwon AI Trade Center,' it will expand and reorganize its existing digital trade support centers, 'deXter,' which operate at 20 locations nationwide, into 'AI Trade Centers.'

This reorganization is part of KOTRA's three major AI strategies announced in September, specifically the implementation of 'enhancing export support systems using AI.' The aim is to upgrade regional export support infrastructure with a focus on AI, making it freely accessible to local companies and young people. The targeted regions include five major metropolitan areas (the five hubs: the Seoul Metropolitan Area, Central Region, Honam Region, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Region, and Southeastern Region) and three special self-governing provinces (the three specials: Gangwon, Jeju, and Jeonbuk).

Status of AI Trade Centers Nationwide (Total 20 Locations), Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

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At the AI Trade Centers, the following O2O (online to offline) export support services will be provided: ▲ digital content production for export product promotion ▲ automatic recommendations of buyers and promising markets using KOTRA's Tribig system ▲ support for entering B2B (business-to-business) platforms such as BuyKorea and Alibaba ▲ digital marketing utilizing global AI platforms ▲ online and offline trade consultations. Through these services, the goal is to enable local companies to discover buyers more efficiently and improve their export performance.

The AI Trade Centers will also serve as hubs for nurturing trade professionals with AI expertise. Regular overseas marketing training using AI platforms will be conducted, and academic credit recognition in collaboration with local universities will be expanded. This year, seven universities are participating, and next year, the number of partner universities is planned to be increased to over ten.

Kang Kyungsung, President of KOTRA, stated, "By utilizing the AI Trade Centers, we will enable local companies to effectively discover buyers, register products online, and conduct digital marketing," adding, "We will do our utmost to ensure that the AI Trade Centers faithfully serve as forward bases for local company exports and talent development."

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