Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) Chairman Kim Byung-kwan waves the association's flag during his inauguration ceremony at the Westin Josun Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of KOIMA

By Park Jae-hyuk

The Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) held a ceremony Monday to celebrate the appointment of Bronte Family CEO Kim Byung-kwan as the association's new chairman.

The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the Korea International Trade Association and the Federation of Korean Industries, as well as diplomats from around 70 countries, according to KOIMA.

KOIMA said Kim will serve a three-year term as its chairman representing importers in Korea, making efforts to enhance the global competiveness of the association's members and to promote trade with other countries.

Even before becoming chairman, he had been contributing to KOIMA by assuming several important positions of the association.

"Korea is well-positioned as the eighth-largest trading partner and became one of the most advanced economies in the world. In the course of this development, we all witnessed that the Korean import business has played a major and critical role," Kim said in his speech. "Recently, we experienced global supply chain disruptions for many essential materials. KOIMA will work hard to secure more stable and resilient supply chains by actively bringing in new suppliers from around the world."

He emphasized that KOIMA will work closely with diplomats in Korea to strengthen international networks and will continue supporting its 8,000 members to make a leap forward in the global market.

In addition, he unveiled KOIMA's plan to open a press center to better communicate with the media and to have suppliers in other countries take a positive view on their Korean partners.

Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said in his congratulatory speech that trade has played an important role in Korea's economic growth, describing KOIMA members importing the essential raw materials for the Korean industry as the heroes of the nation's economic development.