Approximately 10 people attended the signing ceremony held at the Gyeonggi Agricultural and Fishery Promotion Agency, including Gyeonggi Agricultural and Fishery Promotion Agency Director Choi Chang-soo, Gyeonggi Foreigner Welfare Center Directors’ Council Chair Kim Yong-guk, and Gyeonggi Foreigner Human Rights Support Center Director Oh Gyeong-seok.

The Gyeonggi Foreigner Welfare Center Directors’ Council is an organization composed of about 10 foreigner welfare centers in the province. It develops various policies to support the settlement of foreign immigrants, including medical and housing counseling and multicultural talent development.

The Gyeonggi Foreigner Human Rights Support Center is an organization that counsels foreign workers on their human rights and researches ways to protect their rights against discrimination. It also provides legal and labor advice.

The agreement aims to promote the human rights of seasonal foreign workers, whose numbers are increasing due to shortages of rural labor, so as to help them adapt to rural life and build sustainable agriculture and rural communities.

Each organization plans to provide seasonal foreign workers with communication support, such as interpretation, human rights counseling, and legal advice, and to conduct awareness-raising training with regard to seasonal foreign workers.

“We signed this agreement so that seasonal foreign workers and farmers can coexist,” said Gyeonggi Agricultural and Fisheries Promotion Agency Director Choi Chang-soo. “We will do our best to address concerns about human rights violations against seasonal foreign workers and help them smoothly adapt to rural life.”

The Gyeonggi Agricultural and Fisheries Promotion Agency is promoting Seasonal Foreign Worker Operation Management Support Project through the operation of the Gyeonggi Agricultural Human Resources Support Center, which includes on-site consultations on human rights related to the working environment of seasonal foreign workers and education to improve employer awareness.

As part of her first visit to Korea, President Díaz Ayuso traveled to Gyeonggi Province to explore opportunities for cooperation in areas such as investment, digital initiatives, and culture. The two leaders agreed on the importance of cooperation between local governments in times of global turmoil and agreed to establish a consultation channel to explore opportunities for cooperation in cutting-edge industries such as AI, startups, healthcare, tourism, and other sectors.

Noting that Alcalá de Henares, the hometown of Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, is located in Madrid, Governor Kim said, “I have read the complete translation of Don Quixote. After serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance and entering politics, I have always thought about what Don Quixote’s windmills would mean to Korean society and have been striving for innovation.”

“I heard that the president is very interested in healthcare, digitalization, and cultural exchange. I also understand that she will be visiting companies in Gyeonggi Province such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG,” Governor Kim continued. “I hope we can lay a good foundation for cooperation in future investment and business development. At the same time, I look forward to more cooperation between Madrid and Gyeonggi in the fields of startups, AI and tourism.”

“The Community of Madrid is the economic engine of Spain, playing a major role in finance, insurance and education. It is also a region open to all, with a rich culture, gastronomy, and a variety of sports and entertainment events,” said President Díaz Ayuso. “Through this visit, we hope to strengthen economic, technological and cultural ties with Gyeonggi Province and the Republic of Korea.”

“When I came to Korea and saw it for myself, I felt that it is very developed not only in terms of industry and technology, but also in terms of culture,” she said, adding, “I hope to continue working with Gyeonggi Province next year.”

Governor Kim and President Díaz Ayuso promised to pay official visits to each other at the earliest convenient time.

The Community of Madrid includes the capital city of Madrid and its metropolitan area. It has the highest GDP in Spain (EUR 262 billion in 2022) and attracts more than 75% of investments in Spain. It is the economic, political and cultural center of the Iberian Peninsula and is considered one of the most active regions for startups in Spain.

Governor Kim has been expanding engagement with Spain, including discussing cooperation measures with Spanish Ambassador to Korea Guillermo Kirkpatrick in March.

Of particular note, Gyeonggi Province successfully held the “2024 Gyeonggi Startup Summit” in September in cooperation with South Summit, a global startup platform based in Madrid. Gyeonggi Province plans to cooperate more actively with Spain next year, taking advantage of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Spain.

This was the first meeting between the two leaders in six years. During his year and a half as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Governor Kim met with then Singapore Finance Minister Heng on several occasions at finance ministers’ meetings of various economic cooperation organizations, such as the G20 and ASEAN+3, and at the annual meetings of international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The two became friends, attending meetings together or having separate bilateral meetings to discuss strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries, and even having personal conversations.

Governor Kim expressed his happiness, saying, “I have seen the Deputy Prime Minister many times in Singapore, Argentina, the Philippines, the United States and many other places, and even though his position has changed, I am so happy to see him here in Korea.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng responded, “We have been friends since I was Finance Minister. I have met finance ministers from many countries, but the Governor has a deep knowledge of economics and finance, so I have always gained a lot from our conversations. I am very happy that you invited me to meet you in Gyeonggi Province.

On this day, six years after these two first met as ministers of South Korea and Singapore, respectively, the Governor of Gyeonggi Province (the largest local government in Korea) and the Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Research Foundation (which oversees Singapore’s R&D policy) exchanged views on cooperation in new areas such as R&D, personnel and youth exchanges for future industrial innovation.

“I look forward to greater cooperation between Gyeonggi Province and Singapore,” Governor Kim said. “I hope that there will be even better results in cooperation across all industries, including AI, big data, mobility, and semiconductors, as well as in people-to-people exchanges.”

“The similarities between Gyeonggi Province and Singapore can be summed up in two words: ‘innovation’ and ‘courage.’ Innovation for opportunity and courage for the future. On this basis, both countries have enjoyed rapid economic development,” Governor Kim continued. “We are both doing our best to lead innovation and create a better future for our people. That is why I am so excited about the opportunities that lie ahead. I believe we are partners who have a lot to offer each other.”

Deputy Prime Minister Heng said, “The Gyeonggi Province I am seeing today is a cradle of vibrant innovation and talent cultivation. As the largest province in the Republic of Korea, I believe there will be many opportunities for cooperation between Gyeonggi and Singapore in the future.”

“At a time when we are seeing leadership changes in the U.S., the U.K. and many other countries, and uncertainty is on the rise, we need to do a lot of work to deal with change,” Deputy Prime Minister Heng continued. “In this sense, I think the various programs in Gyeonggi Province that encourage young people to take on new challenges send a very good message.

After the official meeting, Governor Kim proposed the formation of a high-level working group to strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation, as well as to expand youth exchanges and research exchanges, to which Deputy Prime Minister Heng responded positively, saying, “It’s a good idea.”

Before meeting with Governor Kim that day, Deputy Prime Minister Heng visited the Pangyo Techno Valley Startup Campus and the Gwanggyo Techno Valley Gyeonggi Bio Hub, both established by Gyeonggi Province, and learned about Gyeonggi Province’s policies for promoting startups and supporting research and development in advanced industries.

Since the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year, Gyeonggi Province and Singapore have maintained steady exchanges in innovation, including a meeting between Governor Kim and Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo, a meeting between a delegation led by Singapore Smart Nation Authority Group Second Permanent Secretary Augustine Lee and Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Economic Affairs Kim Hyun-gon, and a visit to the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Complex by Singapore’s Ambassador to Korea Eric Teo. In July, 30 young people from Gyeonggi Province participated in language classes and various experiential activities at the National University of Singapore, Singapore’s most prestigious university, as part of Gyeonggi’s Youth Ladder Project. In October, Singapore Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Dr. He Ruimin attended the Gyeonggi Global Transformation Forum hosted by Gyeonggi Province to discuss AI and Humanomics. In addition, the Singaporean government officially invited Governor Kim through the S R Nathan Fellowship, a program that invites high-level foreign officials to share their insights.

Gyeonggi Province plans to continue its efforts to expand exchanges with Singapore in various fields.

The event coincided with the 2024 Saigon Beauty Show, Vietnam’s largest beauty exhibition, raising the profile of K-beauty brands.

The K-Beauty Expo, held in Vietnam for the fourth time since 2020, featured 60 booths representing 60 beauty companies from Gyeonggi Province. K-beauty products including cosmetics, nails, hair, body care, fragrance, ingredients, fitness, spa and functional cosmetics and more were showcased to 6,496 Vietnamese visitors.

Gyeonggi Province and KINTEX supported booth participation fees and interpretation services for participating Gyeonggi companies and arranged consultations with buyers from 230 companies, achieving export consultations valued at USD 45 million.

Support was provided to promote the brands/products on local official social media sites, and export consultations were held with invited local buyers in collaboration with the KOTRA Ho Chi Minh Trade Center.

NSL Co, Ltd, which sells skin care products (basic cosmetics and cleansing products), had a total of 15 consultations with major buyers at the event, establishing a bridgehead for developing its Southeast Asian market. Speaking about their participation, a company representative said, “This is the first time we have participated in an overseas beauty exhibition, but there were more visitors than we expected and many buyers interested in exclusive contracts… The Gyeonggi-supported interpreter also worked hard at the booth for three days, which contributed to the good results, and we will definitely participate again next time.”

“The high level of interest has confirmed the potential of Gyeonggi Province’s beauty companies to successfully enter Vietnam… We will continue to expand overseas sales channels for small and medium-sized beauty enterprises through various support measures,” said Kim Seong-beom, Director of the Bio-Industry Division of Gyeonggi Province.

The K-Content Intellectual Property Convergence Production Support Project has been propelled by Gyeonggi Province since 2023. Its aim is to help small and medium-sized content production companies in the province strengthen their competitiveness through the discovery of successful models of multifaceted convergence with cutting-edge technologies and various genres and industries using superior intellectual property (IP).

This year’s event saw the participation of seven of Korea’s top IP conglomerates – Kakao Entertainment, Naver Webtoon, Hyundai Department Store, YG PLUS, SAMG Entertainment, Smart Study Ventures and Smilegate – up from five last year. Six new companies also participated as test beds for the 12 completed convergence IPs, as well as demonstration and distribution outlets to expand exhibition opportunities.

The event featured SAMG Entertainment’s popular animation “Catch! Tiny Ping,” Naver Webtoon’s “No Home,” Kakao Entertainment’s “Acorn Culture Center,” Hyundai Department Store’s character “Whitey,” YG PLUS’ “Crunk,” Smilegate’s meta-human “Han Yoo-ah” and other popular IP, including realistic content, merchandise and music videos. The performance exhibition, which runs simultaneously in four areas on the first floor of Starfield Suwon, provides a space to experience and enjoy this content.

Of particular note, “KIP Festa: Route Exploration” will present a new route for the content IP sector, enabling visitors to complete missions and win various prizes by visiting each exhibition space in turn.

As part of the event, a presentation of the outcomes will be held on November 15 (Friday) at the Megabox theater on the 7th floor of Starfield Suwon. The small and medium content producers involved in the 12 funded projects will share their stories of how they were able to shape their ideas and bring them to market. There will also be group discussions and networking sessions with key partners and participants sharing their visions.

“This presentation is not just a content exhibition, but the first to showcase a total of 12 convergence outcomes using the intellectual property rights of small and medium-sized content production companies, as well as the results of cooperation and symbiosis between large and small companies… Gyeonggi Province will continue to maintain a triangular formation with large and small content production companies so that creative ideas can lead to the strengthened competitiveness of K-content,” said Kang Ji-sook, Director of the Content Industry Division of Gyeonggi Province.

This forum, hosted by Gyeonggi Province and organized by Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, was designed to help medical industry companies in the province develop strategies for international certification and successfully enter the global market.

Domestic and international medical device and digital healthcare experts and company representatives shared various cases and explored certification procedures in major American, European and Asian markets, as well as strategic cooperation plans for companies to expand overseas.

Specifically, the event saw the discussion of the following topics: K-bio in the global spotlight and realizing full-fledged growth (Amazon Korea representative); overseas expansion strategies of domestic medical device companies (including digital healthcare companies; Samjeong KMPG Director Choi Yoo-jin); medical device expansion strategies in China and Southeast Asia (Korea Testing & Research Institute Director Jang Dong-hyeok); overseas expansion experiences and cases of domestic technology-based digital therapeutic devices (Emocog Noh Yoo-heon); and more.

Gyeonggi Province has been promoting its Medical Industry Cooperation Support Project with Bundang Seoul National University Hospital since 2020. The main initiatives include a mentoring program to connect experts one-on-one in key fields (medical, investment, licensing) for technology development, research seminars that enable the sharing of ideas in the medical field among industry stakeholders, forums to share the latest trends in the medical industry’s overseas expansion, and support for clinical trials/analytical tests to evaluate market entry.

“This forum is an important opportunity to strengthen the global development capabilities of the medical industry in Gyeonggi Province and expand cooperation among companies… We will continue to provide the administrative support necessary for medical companies and others to resolve difficulties in the technology and product development process and enhance their international competitiveness,” said Yoo Kwon-soo, Director of the Medical Resources Division of Gyeonggi Province.

Gyeonggi Province announced on October 25 that a delegation from the province, led by Governor Kim, will visit Austria and the Netherlands, located in central Europe, from October 27 to November 2 to build a bridge for the expansion of Gyeonggi Province companies into Europe.

Governor Kim visited the eastern U.S., including New York City, for five days and seven nights from October 15 to 21 to build partnerships with New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, and to attract a total of KRW 2.1 trillion in investment.

In the Netherlands, he will first visit the headquarters of ASM and ASML, two of the world’s leading semiconductor equipment companies, to discuss investment cooperation.

Founded in 1968, ASM is a global semiconductor equipment company with annual sales of KRW 3.8 trillion. It is a market leader in atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology, which is essential for semiconductor production.

Founded in 1984, ASML is the world’s leading supplier of semiconductor equipment for lithography, a key process in semiconductor manufacturing, with annual sales of EUR 27.6 billion (KRW 40 trillion in 2023). It is the only company capable of producing equipment for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography (the process of forming circuit patterns on silicon wafers), which is essential for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

Global cooperation in high-tech industries will also be strengthened. Governor Kim will meet the Minister of Labor and Economic Affairs of Austria, a ‘powerhouse of small and medium-sized enterprises,’ to expand economic and industrial cooperation, and sign a new friendship agreement with the Dutch province of North Brabant, a high-tech industrial center.

He will also be a keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the 28th World Korean Economic Congress, which will be attended by some 3,000 businesspeople from around the world, and is expected to play a leading role in helping Gyeonggi Province companies expand into Europe, centered around the Gyeonggi Pavilion at the event venue.

“In Austria, which is located in the center of Europe, we will meet with local political and business figures and take on problem-solving roles for Gyeonggi Province companies expanding into Europe. In the Netherlands, we will not only strengthen international exchanges but also actively discuss investment cooperation with high-tech semiconductor equipment companies,” said a Gyeonggi Province official. “We will continue to achieve significant results after our trip to the U.S.”

On October 23, a delegation from Flanders, including Annelies Vanderhoydonks, Head of AI Policy at the Center of Excellence for AI under the Ministry of Digital Strategy of Flanders, visited the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Complex to discuss ways to strengthen international AI cooperation between the two local governments.

Flanders is one of the members of the Disruptive Emerging Technologies Alliance (DETA), a council of local governments that Gyeonggi Province joined in January to strengthen international policy exchange on artificial intelligence (AI). This was the first face-to-face meeting after several video conferences.

At the meeting, Kim Ki-byeong, Director General of AI for Gyeonggi Province, introduced the current status and tasks of AI policy promotion in Gyeonggi Province, and pledged cooperation between the two regions in policy exchange in the field of artificial intelligence and support for the advancement of the field by research institutes, universities and companies.

The Belgian delegation visited Mind AI and Naver in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, to learn about the companies’ AI technologies and related services.

“If you are interested in visiting Belgium, we will introduce Belgium’s AI technology and policies, and also arrange meetings with various companies, schools and research institutes,” said Wouter Vanhees, Trade and Investment Counselor for Flanders in Korea.

“We hope that this meeting will be an important opportunity for further cooperation between the local governments of the two countries in the application of human-centered AI, and we will continue to work together to achieve common results through close AI cooperation,” said Director General Kim.

Kim Hyun-gon, Vice Governor for Economy of Gyeonggi Province, and Tran Sy Thanh, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at Dodamso (Gyeonggi gubernatorial residence) on October 21. With the signing of the MOU, Hanoi became Gyeonggi Province’s third Vietnamese cooperation partner after Ng Ean Province and Ho Chi Minh City.

Through this agreement, the two regions agreed to expand cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade, smart cities, urban development, culture and the arts, cultural heritage preservation and promotion, sports exchanges, climate change and energy issues, health care, education and people-to-people exchanges. They also shared their visions for overcoming global crises and achieving sustainable development.

“Gyeonggi Province is the largest local government in South Korea, the economic and industrial center of the nation, and a leader in high-tech industries such as semiconductors, bio and AI. Hanoi is the millennium capital of Vietnam, a center of politics, culture, science and education, and a stronghold of the northern economy,” said Vice Governor Kim. “Today, two regions representing two countries have established friendly and cooperative relations. We look forward to practical cooperation in various fields in the future.”

“Gyeonggi Province is a representative region of Korea in many aspects, including population, area and economy, and I believe it is a leading region in new fields, especially high-tech, environmental and creative innovation fields, and so I foresee considerable cooperation with Hanoi,” said Chairman Tran Sy Thanh. “I look forward to signing the MOU today and realizing cooperation in various fields.”

Hanoi is a city with a long history, so much so that in 2010 it will celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of its designation as the capital of Vietnam. It is the political, cultural, educational and economic center of northern Vietnam, and its main industries are trade, transportation, communications, finance and services. With a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of USD 54.6 billion in 2023, Hanoi ranks second in Vietnam.

With this agreement, Gyeonggi Province will pursue closer cooperation with “post-China” Vietnam, which is the province’s third largest export market after the U.S. and China and an important partner in the global supply chain.

Gyeonggi Province expects that this agreement will provide an important opportunity to expand exchanges from the southeastern region of Vietnam to the northern region, thus diversifying exchange areas and expanding its economic sphere.

Governor Kim’s visit to the U.S., the third since he took office, is significant as it is the result of his participation in the 2024 Davos Forum (World Economic Forum Annual Meeting), Gyeonggi Province said.

Governor Kim was the only government official invited to the Innovator Community Session at the Davos Forum in Switzerland in January, where he networked with global startups. The Innovator Community Session is a signature event of the Davos Forum where startups from around the world share information. Governor Kim also hosted a special session called “Gyeonggi and the Innovators,” which was prepared by the Forum organizers in response to requests from unicorn companies (unlisted startups with a company value of over KRW 1 trillion and less than 10 years in business) that participated in the Davos Forum. Governor Kim requested investment from Gyeonggi Province for the seven startups that participated in the session, and this time he came at the invitation of Saeju Jeong Se-ju, Chairman & Co-Founder of NOOM, a Korean-American unicorn company that also participated in the session.

Accordingly, 31 people from 22 startups in Gyeonggi Province will accompany the Gyeonggi Province delegation for the signing of an agreement with the United Korean Founders (UKF) to support the mutual promotion of startups between Gyeonggi Province and America. The UKF is a non-profit organization established by Korean entrepreneurs in America to support the creation of a startup ecosystem.

They will also participate in the 2024 NYC Startup Summit organized by the UKF, providing Gyeonggi startups with opportunities to secure global investment and spread the message that Gyeonggi Province offers an ideal environment for the growth of startups.

The visit is also expected to lead to substantial investment. A company, a global leader in industrial safety certification, and B, a foreign-invested company in a logistics center and development platform, are pursuing investment agreements.

In the field of international exchange and cooperation, Governor Kim will meet with the governors of Virginia and New York to strengthen practical cooperation in high-tech industries.

Virginia is home to manufacturing and high-tech industries as well as major data centers, and Governor Kim will meet with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to discuss innovation alliances in Gyeonggi’s strategic industries and future growth sectors such as startups and biotech.

Another meeting will facilitate exchanges with New York State, a representative region for startups. Governor Kim plans to propose to New York Governor Kathy Hochul material support for the startup sector, human and technology exchanges, and economic cooperation between Gyeonggi Province and New York State.

A Gyeonggi Province official said, “This visit is aimed at strengthening exchanges and cooperation in the eastern part of North America, expanding the economic sphere of advanced industries, and attracting investment… In particular, it is significant in providing opportunities for startups in Gyeonggi Province to enter the global market.”