President Park Geun-hye on Thursday held a meeting with business leaders and economy-related government officials to discuss ways to shore up trade and investment, her office Cheong Wa Dae said.

During the meeting, the 10th of its kind, Park urged efforts to create new items that can be traded and make "pre-emptive moves" to boost investment, so as to better cope with growing uncertainties in the global economy.

"For us to secure new growth engines and lead the global market, it is important to be rearmed with technologies, culture and services; create new, promising export products; and pre-emptively devise and implement measures to bolster investment," she said.
President Park Geun-hye speaks during a meeting on trade and investment at her office Cheong Wa Dae on July 7, 2016. (Yonhap)The chief executive also stressed that to boost trade, the country should strengthen the competitiveness of its mainstay industries, such as steel; use innovative ideas to turn its consumption goods into globally popular, premium products; and respond more rapidly to changing consumer trends.

Noting a string of potential risk factors that could harm Korea's economy, she called on the participants to try to turn them into "new opportunities" to strengthen economic fundamentals.

"Externally, there is a possibility of the revival of trade protectionism due to Brexit," she said, adding that "sensitive issues," such as nontariff trade barriers and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, could dampen the country's exports.

"Despite such deteriorating external conditions, we should convert the crisis into new opportunities by championing an externally oriented open policy," she said.

Mentioning a set of the renewable energy projects that the government has pushed for, she pointed out that they could be desirable items to export in the future.

The projects include establishing eco-friendly towns that meet their energy demands through the processing of biomass and other renewable energy sources. 

"We should first make (these projects) take root within the country through large-scale, pre-emptive investment and regulatory reform," Park said. "And then, we should actively pursue advances in overseas (markets)."

The meeting also touched on kosher and halal markets, the companion animal industry, real-estate services and the virtual reality sector as new areas for Korea to delve into, the presidential office said.

The meeting, which was last held five months ago, brought together some 190 attendees, including the ministers of finance, culture and tourism, future planning and agriculture, as well as entrepreneurs from various business sectors.

Since Park took office in February 2013, she has regularly hosted such a meeting on trade and investment as part of efforts to create jobs and revitalize the overall economy. (Yonhap)