Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) CEO Yu Jeoung-yeol speaks during his inauguration ceremony at the agency's headquarters in Seoul in this May 2021 file photo. Courtesy of KOTRA

By Park Jae-hyuk

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) has been making preparations for the reopening of its office in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, more than a decade after its closure, according to the agency, Tuesday.

"It will be an office which is run by a single employee," a KOTRA official said.

The planned reopening is said to be intended to enable Korean firms to capitalize on Portugal's economic relationship with Brazil and several other countries using Portuguese as their official language.

Considering the fact that KOTRA's Atlanta office also reopened last Thursday after a 15-year hiatus, the forthcoming return of its Lisbon office is also interpreted as part of the agency's efforts to resume its expansion in the U.S. and Europe.

In 2007, KOTRA shut down its offices in Lisbon, Atlanta and several other locations in accordance with a recommendation from the Board of Audit and Inspection a year earlier to streamline its management, although there had been criticism among Korean businesspeople that the hasty closure of the offices might cause difficulties in establishing networks for exports.

The agency has particularly reduced its workforce in developed countries to reinforce its offices in developing nations.

In 2018, KOTRA's then-CEO, Kwon Pyung-oh, said in a press conference that the agency would redeploy employees in developed countries to developing nations and establish offices in India and Southeast Asian countries to support the Moon Jae-in administration's New Southern Policy.

Starting last year, however, KOTRA has been making gradual efforts to help Korean firms doing business in developed economies.

Last December, its Osaka office opened the Global Partnering Center to support Korean companies hoping to enter Japan's materials, components and equipment markets.

Its Sydney office also opened a support center during the same month to enable Korean exporters and Australian buyers to benefit from the free trade agreement between the two countries and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a free trade agreement among 10 Asia-Pacific nations.

Regarding the recent reopening of its Atlanta office, KOTRA said the office will take charge of enhancing cooperation with the governments of four southeastern states in the U.S., including Georgia, where Kia, SK Innovation, Hanwha Q Cells, Kumho Tire and many other Korean companies have production facilities.