$130 Million in Contracts and MOUs at Export Boom Up Korea; Support for Diversifying Sales Channels

[Financial News] Export contracts and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) worth $130 million (approximately 170 billion won) were signed at the country’s largest comprehensive export consultation event, organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). Deals ranging from pharmaceuticals to industrial materials were finalized, while consultations were also held to help restore sales channels in the Middle East, where exports have declined.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA said on the 27th that 149 export contracts and MOUs worth a total of $130 million were signed at “2026 Export Boom Up Korea,” held on the 21st and 22nd at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
The event drew 492 overseas buyer companies from 61 countries and 1,504 South Korean companies. They held a total of 5,366 export consultations, with the consultation value estimated at $1.2 billion.
At the event, a South Korean pharmaceutical manufacturer signed a $6.8 million export contract with a Vietnamese buyer for medicines to treat hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Canadian industrial equipment and materials distributor F signed a $220,000 contract with a South Korean company to supply stainless steel wire rod. The deal will allow F to diversify its parts suppliers, which had been limited to China.
A, a one-person startup founded by a young entrepreneur that began selling cosmetics last December, also held a video consultation with support from KOTRA in June this year and signed its first export contract with a buyer in South Africa.
Support was also provided to help revive exports to the Middle East. From January to September this year, exports to the region totaled $9.8 billion, down 18.1% from the same period a year earlier. KOTRA operated a “Special Support Pavilion for Middle East Exports” at the event to assist exports that had been affected by instability in the region. There, 56 buyer companies from 11 Middle Eastern countries held purchasing consultations with South Korean companies.
A venue was also provided to help regional businesses and small business owners develop overseas sales channels. Nineteen local small and medium-sized enterprises and small businesses participated in the regional business exhibition and promotional pavilion, which operated for the first time this year. At the Win-Win Cooperation Pavilion, jointly established by Naver Happybean and KOTRA, 19 small businesses and social enterprises held a total of 148 export consultations.
About 250 people, including representatives of South Korean companies and young people, attended briefings on entering overseas retail outlets and on export logistics and corporate response strategies, sharing practical information needed to expand overseas.
KOTRA President Kang Kyung-sung said, “Boom Up Korea is a place to reap the rewards of the export seeds we have sown so far, and to sow new seeds for next year. KOTRA will continue to expand opportunities for our companies to enter overseas markets and actively support the diversification of export markets and the expansion of our export base.”

[email protected] Kim Hak-jae Reporter