Exports are vital for South Korea to generate national wealth, and boosting them requires a collaborative effort between the government and businesses, First Vice Industry Minister Kang Kyung-sung said at the Global Business Forum in Seoul on Wednesday.

“As Korea remains one of the world's most export-dependent industrialized nations, more exports mean more people living well. Therefore, the raison d'etre of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is to increase exports," Kang said at the weekly event organized by The Korea Herald.

“Exports have continued to increase in recent years, and the government has set its ambitious annual exports target for this year at $700 billion. This is more than the previous high of $683.6 billion in 2022,” Kang said, noting that from January to May this year, exports saw an on-year increase of approximately 9.6 percent, making the goal feasible.

Kang also cited the example of government-business cooperation when Hyundai Motor and Kia cars were excluded from the list of electric vehicles eligible for subsidies in the form of tax credits announced by the US government in 2022 under the detailed guidelines of the Inflation Reduction Act. This raised concerns about their market share expansion in the US, the largest export market for Korean cars. However, the Korean government helped expand their exports through further negotiations with the US government and by exploring ways for Korean companies to bypass the IRA provision.

Accordingly, Korea's car exports rose 31 percent on-year in 2023 to reach a record high of $70.9 billion, driven by solid demand for eco-friendly vehicles.

The government will strive to further strengthen exports by stabilizing the supply chain, encouraging foreign investment, strengthening the protection of national core technologies and supporting research and development, Kang said.

At the forum, Kim Yang-min, a professor at Sogang Business School introduced the concept of “sensemaking," stressing that business leaders need to understand this idea to navigate the uncertain environment and implement suitable innovations.

The concept of “sensemaking,” originally introduced by Karl Edward Weick, an emeritus professor of organizational behavior and psychology at the University of Michigan, refers to the cognitive process of interpreting uncertainty and unexpected changes in context, assigning meaning to them and taking action in response.

Kim emphasized that larger companies are more prone to making decisions based on inertia, and the CEO and managers should strive to develop their sensemaking skills to avoid this. To this end, he said, executives need to stop relying on information from just one source, get out in the field for direct observation, put themselves in the customer's shoes, collaborate with various stakeholders and create a culture where everyone feels free to voice their opinions.

Malaysian Ambassador to Korea Dato' Mohd Zamruni Khalid also attended the forum, introducing the Southeast Asian country as a preferred investment destination in the region, with SK Nexilis, SPC Group, Lotte Chemical, Samsung and others thriving there.

“Based on the statistics released in 2023, the total bilateral trade between Malaysia and Korea amounted to $25 billion. Korea was in the top 10 list for Malaysia, and Malaysia was in the top 12 list for Korea based on different criteria such as export destination and import source.

“This is a clear testament to the strong economic relations between our countries,” Khalid said. He suggested that the two countries, which have enormous potential, strengthen further cooperation in investment, trade and tourism.