A Government trade mission to South Korea is underway with Ministers, state agencies and Irish companies visiting Seoul in a bid to boost economic and educational ties.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris are all taking part, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar due to visit South Korea tomorrow.
This morning, a business breakfast was held in Seoul allowing Enterprise Ireland client companies meet with Korean partners and key contacts in the region.
120 Enterprise Ireland supported companies have been doing business in South Korea in recent years and 21 Irish companies are part of this week's trade mission.
Key successes for Irish business in South Korea include fintech company Transfermate, agri-machinery companies Tanco and McHale, and Irish clinical research firm ICON which employs over 750 people in the Korean market.
South Korea is the 13th largest economy in the world and in 2021 Irish exports of goods and services to the country were valued at €3.5 billion.
South Korea is home to some of the biggest companies in the world including Samsung, LG and Hyundai.
"It can be daunting when you are a small Irish company thinking about doing business with an LG, Samsung or Hyundai," said Leo Clancy, chief executive of Enterprise Ireland.
"But this week is about changing some of that perception and we have some Irish companies with us this week looking to business with those big companies for the first time," Mr Clancy said.
IDA Ireland is also taking part in this week's trade mission and will be promoting Ireland as a location for foreign direct investment.
"The innovation and scale of companies here in South Korea is immense and that is a real opportunity for Ireland," said Michael Lohan, CEO of IDA Ireland.
"We share a lot of common values in innovation, talent and skill set and the reason IDA is here today is because we see an opportunity for growth for Ireland," Mr Lohan said.
"The Asia market is a strong market in terms of diversification for FDI and I think South Korea has a greater role to play in that in the future," he added.
