- Washington branch becomes K-SURE’s third U.S. office following Los Angeles and New York, reflecting the growing importance of the American market due to strengthened protectionist trade measures, including tariffs.

- Leveraging local networks, the new office will expand its role in supporting successful project deals through finding potential project opportunities.

■ The Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-SURE) announced on April 23 (Wednesday) that it had held an opening ceremony for its Washington D.C. branch on the 22nd (local time) at the Wilard InterContinental Hotel in Washington D.C. 

○ The event was attended by approximately 100 distinguished guests from both Korea and the United States, including K-SURE Chairman and President  Jang Young-jin, Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyun-dong, the U.S. Department of Commerce Executive Director Ashok Pinto, and U.S. Export-Import Bank First Vice President James C. Cruise, along with representatives from government agencies, public institutions, related organizations, and private companies. 

■ The Washington D.C. office marks K-SURE’S third foothold in the U.S., following the establishment of Los Angeles office in 1992, and its New York branch in 2006, and was launched to proactively address concerns over export slowdowns arising from heightened domestic and international uncertainties including stricter U.S. tariff policies. 

○ As the epicenter of global policy and finance, Washington D.C., houses key international financial institutions such as the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank alongside influential think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and leading media outlets including The Washington Post and Bloomberg. 

○ Through its new office, K-SURE aims to strategically expand its networks with these institutions to gain real-time insights into U.S. policy trends and to jointly identify and develop overseas projects. 

■ Earlier this April, K-SURE launched an “Emergency Support Task Force for U.S. Tariff Response,” utilizing its overseas offices in the United States, Vietnam, China, and other key markets where many Korean companies are actively operating to monitor real-time local policy developments and corporate situations, thereby minimizing tariff-related damages to Korean businesses.

○ In the future, the Washington D.C. office will strengthen its efforts to track political and economic developments within the U.S., identify global project opportunities, and engage in targeted marketing toward project owners, thereby further facilitating the export and overseas expansion of Korean enterprises. 

■ In his welcome speech, K-SURE Chairman and President Jang Young-jin stated, “Washington D.C is more than just the administrative capital of the U.S.; it is the heart of global policy and finance.”

○ “The Washington branch will actively utilize local networks to become a forward base for ”finance that moves with the field,“ not ”finance that waits in the office,“ and will fully support our companies as they expand into the global market.“