The Chungcheong Metropolitan Alliance (Head Park Soo-hyun) announced that 44 small and medium-sized and venture enterprises from the Chungcheong region participated in the "102nd Tokyo International Gift Show (Autumn)" held for three days from Wednesday, September 2 to Friday, September 4 at Tokyo Big Sight in Japan, recording a total of 627 export consultation cases amounting to $50.36 million (approx. 70 billion KRW).

This performance represents a 42.8% increase in the number of consultations and an 88.3% increase in consultation value compared to last year's Indonesia exhibition (439 cases, $26.75 million), averaging 14 consultations per participating company.

Among the consultation results, pending contracts were tallied at $15.76 million (approx. 219 billion KRW), while a total of 15 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) worth $2.62 million (approx. 36 billion KRW) were signed on-site.

In addition, during the exhibition period, the Alliance conducted parallel schedules visiting local institutions and companies to examine market entry conditions in Japan.

On September 2, the opening day, they visited the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Japan to investigate economic and trade trends in Japan as well as the current status of Korea-Japan cooperation. The following day, on the 3rd, they visited the KOTRA Tokyo Trade Center to receive shared insights on Japan's economic status, consumer goods market trends, and export support programs available to Korean companies, while discussing cooperative measures.

Furthermore, the Alliance, along with representatives from the participating companies, visited KJC Co., Ltd., a Korean company that has advanced into Japan, to receive advice on realistic initial entry challenges, such as local corporation establishment, company operation know-how, and Japanese corporate culture.

Meanwhile, on the 3rd, officials from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Japan visited the Chungcheong region joint promotional booth at the International Gift Show to tour each participating company's booth and encourage the businesspersons.

An official from the Chungcheong Metropolitan Alliance stated, "While the number of consultations and amounts are meaningful, the greater asset is that companies returned after directly confirming the standards of the Japanese market," adding, "Many evaluated that the information gained from the embassy, KOTRA, and companies already established locally was of practical help to the participating companies."

The official added, "As this exhibition has served as a starting point for Chungcheong region companies to knock on the door of the Japanese market, we will continue to communicate with the companies so that the precious connections made on-site can lead to actual export outcomes."

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