KOTRA
KOTRA is a state-funded trade and investment promotion organization operated by the Government of South Korea. KOTRA was established in 1962 as a national trade promotion organization. Since then, it has facilitated Korea's rapid export-led economic development through various trade promotion activities such as overseas market surveys, SME export promotion,trade info services, government-to-gov't export, foreign investment in Korea promotion and business matchmaking.
Activities
In August 1995, cross-border investment promotion and support for technological and industrial cooperation projects were added to KOTRA's mandate, and it was renamed the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.Under Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
KOTRA currently operates Invest KOREA, the national investment promotion agency. Originally initiated as the Korea Investment Service Center in 1998, the agency was relaunched as Invest KOREA in November 2003 to support foreign investors with an expanded range of services.
KOTRA now pursues its twin mandates of trade and investment promotion to enhance national prosperity and competitiveness, with the goal of positioning Korea as the business and economic hub of East Asia. With its experience and expertise, KOTRA assists interested parties worldwide to do business with Korea.
To take advantage of the era of E-Commerce, KOTRA launched the interactive internet portal sites of Invest KOREA Online in 2003 and BuyKorea in 2004.
KOTRA Academy was launched in 2003 as a professional learning center for international business. It is intended that KOTRA's trade and investment manpower will bolster the nation's trade and investment infrastructure. 125 overseas liaison offices covering 85 countries for trade-related information & promotion
with over 1,000employees as of 2016, END.Jan.
KOTRA Seal of Excellence
The KOTRA Seal of Excellence is a seal that KOTRA gives to companies which it deems qualified according to three major criteria. These are: Quality, High Technology, and Trustworthiness. As of June 2010, KOTRA has awarded the seal to 430 different companies. The purpose of the seal is to help foreign companies to identify quality products and companies in Korea.Overseas Offices
In order to execute its mandates more efficiently, KOTRA has opened an extensive worldwide network of overseas Korea Trade Centers. As of July 9, 2018, KOTRA has a network of 126 offices in 86 countries worldwide with 10 of those offices in the United States and Canada. The North American offices are located in Washington D.C., New York City, Dallas, Miami, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, Toronto and Vancouver.| Year | Trade Centers | No. of New Offices |
| 1962 | New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Bangkok | 4 |
| 1964 | Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Jakarta, Tehran, Nairobi | 10 |
| 1965 | Osaka | 11 |
| 1966 | London, Amsterdam, Milan, Geneva, Hamburg, Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, Montreal, Panama, Naha, Sydney, Johannesburg | 24 |
| 1968 | Manila | 25 |
| 1969 | Paris, Hamburg Supporting Centre, Santiago, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Caracas, Lima, Tunisia, Kuwait, Nairobi, Vancouver, Dallas | 39 |
Source: KOTRA