Zagreb, 29 November 2015 – The Korea-Croatia Business Forum was officially opened today at the Sheraton Hotel Zagreb. The Forum is being held in Zagreb from 29th to 30th October in the organization of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Croatia, the Croatian Ministry of Economy, KOTRA, Croatian Chamber of Commerce and with the support of the Croatian-Korean Business Club. Along with the hosts the Korean Ambassador to Croatia H.E. Suh Hyung-Won and President of KOTRA’s european office g. Kim Doo Young, the ceremony was attended by the appointed Croatian Ambassador to Japan and Korea Mr. Dražen Hrastić, Assistant Minister of Economy Mr. Ismar Avdagić, director of the Agency for Investment and Competitiveness Mr. Damir Novinić, President and Secretary General of the Croatian-Korean Business Club, Mr. Zoran Horvat and Mr. Igor Zgrabljić, member of the Supervisory Board of Agrokor Mr. Damir Kuštrak, Ph.D. Krešimir Ćosić, Lieutenant General retired, vice president of the Zagreb City Assembly Mr. Davor Bernardić and others. The ceremony was also attended by some 100 dignitaries and representatives of the Croatian and Korean companies and institutions, including representatives of Korean companies Samsung C & T, Daewoo, Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), POSCO, Korea Telecom, Doosan Heavy Industries and others.
In his opening speech, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea H.E. Suh Hyung-Won welcomed all the guests and expressed his satisfaction with the relations between Croatia and Korea especially in the area of economic cooperation, which is now one of the most important areas in the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Assistant Minister of Economy Mr. Ismar Avdagić expressed his satisfaction with the organization of the Forum and the great interest of Croatian and Korean companies. Cooperation between Croatia and Korea has great potentials and we believe that in the coming years, our economy will be even more connected, said Avdagić.
The President of the KOTRA’s european office Mr. Kim Soo Young presented the data on the economic cooperation between Korea and the European Union countries. Korean export to EU countries in 2014 amounted to 39 billion euros, while Korean imports from the EU amounted to 42 billion euros. All this points to a strong connection between Korean and European economies, which represent a great opportunity for Croatian entrepreneurs, said Young. Korean-Croatian Business Forum continues today with presentations about the possible areas of cooperation between Croatia and Korea, as well as business meetings of Croatian and Korean companies.
In just one year from founding the Croatian-Korean Business Club, the Club has has attracted some of the most prominent Croatian companies and institutions such as; Agrokor concern, Atlantic Group, Vindija, Kraš, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, RIZ-Transmitters, Jadranka, Triglav insurance etc., and has organized a number of projects of which the most important was the premiere performance of Croatian companies at the largest food and beverage market in Korea and Japan “Seoul Food 2015″, which was held in May 2015 in Seoul. With the extremely high quality and prestigious members, the Club joined to its Advisory Board some of the most prominent names of Korean economy and public life, Mr. Yang In-mo, Honorary Croatian Consul in the Republic of Korea, Doc. Cheong-Ho Chang, CEO, Sewon Cellontech, Mr. Chung Chong Cheon, Chairman of the Board, Borim Group, Mr. Jin-Seong Hyun, Director of International Relations, Sewon Cellontech, Ph.D. Dong-Sup Shim, longtime Director in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Yong-Jin (Andreas) Jeong, longtime Director of Samsung Educational and Development Center and Adviser for Communications at the Institute for Research of Comparative History and Culture, Hanyang University, Seoul and Mr. Hai-Geun Hwang, Director of medical equipment, Samsung Corporation, Mr. Yong-Jin (Andreas) Jeong, longtime director of Samsung educational and development center and adviser for communications at the Institute for Research of Comparative History and Culture, Hanyang University, Seoul and Mr. Hai-Geun Hwang, director of medical equipment to Samsung Corporation.
