Ko Kwang-hee, President of the Federation Association of Korean Businesses in Europe (FAKBE), has always been on the side of “very strongly” leaning in when good business opportunities arise.

  Ko, who was elected last November as the sixth president of the Association, visited Korea in July help to promote business partnership with the local governments.

  “I think local governments need to have extensive overseas networks,” president Ko said in an interview with The Overseas Koreans Newspaper on Monday.

  “We’ll make good opportunities that appeal to lots of local governments through bilateral trade between Korea and Europe,” he added.

  Ko said he was honored to take the new role, and sees now as an “exciting time for developing partnership” between domestic and overseas industry. “The association with a diversified business portfolio really combines the best of both parties,” he stressed.

  Before joining the association, Ko spent over 30 years handling sports business in Spain. As one of the Korean martial art “taekwondo” masters, he had emigrated to Spain in 1983 with a pair of uniform and forty-seven US dollars.

  Ko began later light-emitting diode (LED) business after the successful completion of the new sports center, which built on 16,530 square meters of land, houses 19 sports facilities.

  The center will host a luncheon for the village elders who were over the age of 70 twice every month from January next year.

  He was president for the Korean Society of Madrid, handling a variety of community services for ethnic Koreans.

  In his new job, Ko is charged with encouraging more Korean firms to join the networks.

  “Koreans are the best salespeople, so I believe our association has strong growth potential,” Ko said. “We have a lot of good ideas for ethnic Korean business groups and local autonomous bodies.”

  Meanwhile, the association held its general meeting in Madrid from July 17 to 19 to discuss ways to organize the Europe Export Expo in its host country, Spain, in 2016 as part of its efforts to boosting member firms' competitiveness of exports.

  “I think we've just got to pick up the baton that dropped in front of us. Our mission is to pass it on to the next generation. That’s the hope that drives us.”

  By Kyoum Hur     khur@dongponews.net
                             kyoumhur@gmail.com