The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the ‘2026 Global Market Strategy Meeting’ on December 15, chaired by Trade Negotiation Headquarters Director Han-Koo Yeo. The meeting was attended by key commercial officers from major countries and heads of 10 regional headquarters overseeing 131 KOTRA trade offices. The purpose of the meeting was to pre-assess the 2026 trade environment based on information gathered from overseas and to discuss regional customized response strategies, export expansion, and investment attraction strategies.
Key commercial officers shared policy trends such as protectionism in major countries following the inauguration of the new U.S. administration, national industrial promotion policy trends, and the status of local companies. KOTRA then shared next year’s market outlook and entry strategies collected by global trade offices, emphasizing new opportunities such as global supply chain restructuring, global AI investment expansion, and the evolution of the Korean Wave into K-lifestyle.
Director Yeo noted that despite challenging conditions, this year’s exports achieved record highs until November, but the global market environment facing our companies will remain tough next year due to the expansion of protectionism. He emphasized that commercial officers and KOTRA should read and prepare for changes in the global market to help our companies seize opportunities.
Based on this meeting, the Ministry and KOTRA will hold a ‘Global Market Entry Strategy Briefing’ on December 16 to share next year’s market outlook and entry strategies with about 500 export companies. Additionally, follow-up briefings will be held in Cheongju, Ulsan, Daejeon, and Gwangju, and related materials will be posted on KOTRA’s Overseas Economic Information Dream website.