The industry ministry will foster 500 promising exporters into export stars with at least $10 million in overseas sales. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it will begin recruiting companies from Jan. 16 for the K-Export Star 500 program. It will select promising exporters and grow them into 500 export-star companies with exports of at least $10 million by 2030.

South Korea’s exports have surpassed $700 billion for the first time, but the top 1 percent of exporters account for about 84 percent of the country’s export value. Small exporters account for about 8 percent. The ministry viewed the export structure as polarised and in need of stronger fundamentals.

The ministry will support promising companies as an “export star maker” together with five institutions. It signed an MOU on the day with five specialised agencies: the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), the Korea Testing and Research Institute (KCL), the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT), the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology (KEIT) and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation. It will provide support in four areas: premium marketing, certification and patents, export finance and R&D consulting.

Support will target 100 promising exporters in three areas: consumer goods (beauty and food), advanced industries (AI and semiconductors) and key industries (automobiles and machinery). Selected companies can receive up to 560 million won a year in support. They will also receive round-the-clock one-on-one consulting from a 15-member export star mentoring group made up of dedicated mentors and mentors by support function.

It will draw up an “export plan” reflecting each company’s export goals and tailored strategy. Companies can receive one-stop support services in four areas from domestic export support agencies. Special local support will also be provided through 20 export star partner trade offices overseas. Applications are open until Feb. 11 via the websites of KOTRA, KCL, KIAT, KEIT and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation.

Kang Gam-chan, the ministry’s director general for trade and investment, stressed that fostering export star companies that develop new markets and new items is very important to overcome export polarisation and build an export structure for everyone. He added that if the five specialised agencies and the government join forces as one team to foster them as leaders in global markets, he expects the era of $1 trillion in exports will not be far off.