After the Korean War (1950-53), South Korea remained a poor country that exported wigs and cheap clothes until the 1960s. In 2006, or just in four decades, it became the 11th country in the world to break the record of $300 billion in exports.

But the textile industry, which represented the country in the era of rapid economic development in the 1970s and 1980s, gave way to the information-technology (IT), automobile and other high-tech industries in tandem with economic growth. At the moment our companies try to catch up with the advanced technology of advanced fashion, fabric, etc. on account of their not sufficient investment for the development of state-of-the art technology.

South Korea’s textile industry was hit hard by the liberalization of textile trade in 2005, which further lessened the room for exports.

However, the situation reversed itself in 2006. Exports rose 2.3 percent from 2006, as oversupply and price-cutting competition were brought to an end. Textile firms also tried to expand production of high-value added goods and fortify overseas marketing.

One of the key factors for the future of the Korean textile industry is its utilization of the country’s global leadership in the digital sector. Advances in IT world are being combined with traditional textile technologies to generate enormous potential and new spin-off segments.

We are pursuing 'informationization' projects to be adapted by the domestic industry while continuing to pursue ongoing supply chain management systems. The industry is focused on database construction and development for sourcing, production and sales . In addition, advances in e-trade infrastructure are providing momentum for exploring new markets at home and abroad.

Despite some unfavorable factors such as high crude oil prices and the rapid growth of the Chinese textile industry, there are also favorable factors such as the envisioned implementation of the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.

The inter-Korean economic project in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex would also help the South Korean textile industry see a larger chance for development and exports.

The Korean industry becomes a more active player in shaping the new global textile paradigm. This means adopting a more proactive role in international cooperation activities. With the repeal of the global textile quota system and ongoing trade liberalization, we try to adopt global standards to help ease potential trade friction with other countries.

Korea and India have steadily developed a close and cooperative partnership as two major countries of North and South Asia respectively, sharing common values of market economy. I hope the bilateral cooperation will be more strengthened in the future.