Vienna: An annual conference of South Korean business leaders from around the world is successfully under way in Vienna after its opening ceremony at the Austria Center Vienna earlier this week, organizers said Wednesday. The event marks a significant milestone as it is the first instance of the World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Association (World-OKTA) holding its convention in Europe.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the 28th leaders’ convention, organized jointly with South Korea’s key newswire, commenced on Monday for a five-day run. The convention has attracted approximately 3,000 participants, including 850 Korean business leaders from 89 cities in 46 countries, as well as Korean and Austrian government officials. Notable figures such as Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon and actress Park Jin-hee contributed keynote lectures following the opening ceremony.
In conjunction with the convention, the 2024 Korea Business Expo Vienna was launched in Austria on Tuesday, running for two days. It sh
owcases approximately 400 booths by Samsung Electronics Co. alongside 300 small and medium-sized companies. Additionally, the Korean Youth Art Fair was held to introduce about 130 art pieces to the European audience.
The convention is set to conclude with performances by South Korean soprano Sumi Jo and the Brno Philharmonic of the Czech Republic after the closing ceremony on Thursday. Founded in 1981, World-OKTA boasts around 7,000 regular members in 150 branches across 70 countries, in addition to 28,000 next-generation entrepreneurs.