EU-Korea Virtual Conference 2020

ECCK Chairperson Dirk Lukat delivers his welcoming speech at EU-Korea Virtual Business Conference 2020

EU-Korea

Virtual Business Conference 2020

Cover Story

ECCK hosted ‘EU-Korea Virtual Business Conference 2020’ in cooperation with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and BusinessEurope on July 2 at the KCCI Executive Conference Hall. Following the successful EU-Korea summit held on June 30, the ‘EU-Korea Virtual Business Conference 2020’ was organized to discuss the challenges that business face in the rapidly changing global trade and investment environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and bring attention on how to prepare for the ‘New Normal’ in the post-corona era. The online conference was joined by more than 500 industry experts, government officials, and academics from both Europe and Korea.

The conference opened with welcoming remarks from the co-hosts in Korea, ECCK and KCCI.

WOO Tae-hee

, Vice Chairman of KCCI, delivered opening remarks in which he also underscored the significance of the partnership between the EU and Korea. Vice Chairman Woo said, “In the face of a high-turbulence environment, we must make sure to capitalize on new business opportunities before us. Cooperation between Korea and EU will become closer and more diverse in the future, as demand for new growth industries such as future mobilities, secondary batteries, and bio-healthcare increases.”

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

, President of the European Commission, sent a congratulatory video message for the successful organization of the ‘EU-Korea Virtual Business Conference 2020’. In her message, President von der Leyen said, “As we enter the second decade of the strategic partnership between the EU and Korea, let’s ensure that European and Korean businesses work hand-in-hand to become more sustainable and lead us in the digital innovation. This would be the right approach for the future.”

The conference was divided into two sessions, and the participating speakers took part in in-depth discussions on the business perspectives on a new future. On the topic of ‘The Future of International Trade’, the first session focused on the business disruption and global value chains (GVC) challenges from the global spread of COVID-19 and companies facing the economic turmoil. During the session,

Eckart VON KLAEDEN

, Head of External Affairs at Daimler AG, addressed the growing significance of GVCs and the need for internationally aligned standards for greater efficiency in the global automotive industry. Mr. VON KLAEDEN also noted, “Free trade has been under pressure for some time, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further added to it. The EU-Korea Virtual Business Conference presents an excellent opportunity to identify mechanisms that will help strengthen international cooperation and the global trade framework.”

KIM Saehoon

, Senior Vice President of Hyundai Motor Group, stressed the importance of sustainable growth and renewable energy businesses such as the Korean government’s ‘Green New Deal’ plan, in order to revitalize the economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Mr.KIM highlighted the development of hydrogen economy as the main item of the new green energy policies. “Hydrogen can be used in a variety of future mobility environments, such as automobiles, ships, trains, and urban air mobility (UAM). The hydrogen economy is a new possibility to replace the carbon society and a future growth engine for both Korea and the EU.”

In a separate discussion, under the theme of ‘Challenges Ahead in the New Normal’, the European and Korean business leaders focused on the rapid growth and future of the global digital healthcare, such as the ‘untact’ (non-face-to-face contact) medical system.

HWANG Sangjoon

, Senior Vice President of Macrogen said, “It is unlikely that our daily lives will go back to the way things were before the breakout of COVID-19. This is the ‘New Normal’.” Mr. HWANG noted that ‘untact’ healthcare system that minimizes contact between medical staff and patients, such as telemedicine, will become the ‘New Normal’ in the bio-health care sector. In addition, the importance of collecting and analyzing medical data was emphasized for accurate diagnosis of telemedicine. “COVID-19 provides the opportunity to leapfrog in the adoption of digital health,” said

Elisabeth STAUDINGER

, President of Asia Pacific and Greater China at Siemens Healthineers. “The business cooperation between Korea and Europe is paramount, especially now when the global interdependency of the healthcare sector is greater than ever before.” Additional key speakers from the European side included,

Alexis BROUHNS

, Head of Government Affairs at Solvay, and

Markus BEYRER

, Director General of Business Europe. Also,

Hosuk LEE

, Director of the European Center for International Politics and Economics (ECIPE) and

Ali IZADI-NAJAFABADI

, Research Director of Bloomberg NEF Asia-Pacific Region, participated as moderator of the sessions. On the Korean side, additional participating speakers include

KIM Eugene Seong-Youl

, Managing Director of Seegene, and

YOON Soongu

, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Kingdom of Belgium and the EU.

The full speaker list

The novel coronavirus pandemic has greatly disrupted domestic and global supply chains, shrinking production and trade worldwide. Also, it has forced companies to re-examine how they do business in order to survive in the ‘New Normal’ era. With the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a strategic partnership between the EU and Korea, it is vital to further develop our partnership and turn these challenges into new opportunities together.

remarked ECCK Chairperson and CEO of Schenker Korea Dirk Lukat in his welcoming speech.

WOO Tae-hee, Vice Chairman of KCCI, delivers his opening remarks at the EU-Korea Virtual Business Conference 2020

This conference symbolizes the efforts of ECCK and KCCI to shed light on the trends of the industry and promote cooperation between Korean and European businesses. ECCK hopes to strengthen the level of cooperation and expand business and investment opportunities between Europe and Korea.

‘EU-Korea Virtual Business Conference 2020’ successfully concluded

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