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Busan to Dispatch ‘2025 ASEAN Trade Mission’ in Line with Government Policy to Strengthen Cooperation with ASEAN

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will dispatch the ‘2025 ASEAN Trade Mission’ to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Jakarta, Indonesia, from July 28 (Monday) to August 2 (Saturday), 2025, for a period of six days.

This project is hosted by the City and organized by the Busan Economic Promotion Agency. It targets small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in Busan with annual exports of less than USD 30 million.

The City will provide extensive support to the participating companies, including:

• ●50% of round-trip airfare (limited to one person per company),

• ●Local transportation,

• ●Rental fees for business meeting venues,

• ●Interpretation services, and

• ●Buyer matching services.

Recruitment for the program has already been completed. A total of 10 Busan-based consumer goods companies in sectors such as food, cosmetics, hygiene products, and golf goods have been selected.

<Overview of the 2025 ASEAN Trade Mission>

• ●Period/Location: July 28 (Mon) – August 2 (Sat), 2025 / Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Jakarta, Indonesia

• ●Export Focus: Consumer goods

• ●Program Details: On-site export consultation sessions, one-on-one business meetings, etc.

• ●Participants: 10 Busan-based SMEs dealing in consumer goods

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This trade mission holds particular significance as it aligns with the Korean government’s recent efforts to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with key ASEAN countries.

On June 23, the Korean government held summit meetings with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, agreeing to expand substantive cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, digital transformation, and defense.

Furthermore, the Korean government is accelerating economic cooperation with Southeast Asia through initiatives including:

• ●The pursuit of a Korea-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA),

• ●Enhanced collaboration between Korea and ASEAN, and

• ●Strengthened ties with Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) host nations.

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In response to this national trend, Busan is providing proactive support to help local companies achieve tangible export outcomes through overseas expansion.

In particular, for the Indonesian leg of the mission, the number of genuine buyers recruited has been increased from the initial three to six, thereby expanding opportunities for participating companies to connect with reliable purchasers.

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Last year (2024), Busan dispatched a trade mission to Malaysia and Indonesia, achieving remarkable success:

• ●19 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) signed,

• ●An average contract promotion amount of USD 1.25 million (approximately KRW 16.8 billion) per company,

• ●A 181% increase in performance compared to the previous year.

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Kim Bong-chul, Assistant Mayor of the Digital Economy Office of Busan, stated,

“Through this trade mission, we expect to expand practical cooperation with key countries in the Global South, while supporting local export companies in developing overseas sales channels and diversifying their export markets.”
He added,
“In the face of rapid changes in the global landscape—such as the restructuring of global supply chains and rising tensions between the United States and China—it is crucial that we strengthen strategic cooperation with ASEAN countries.”