SETOWORKS, a global go-to-market (GTM) specialist, has been re-designated as a “2026 Professional Trading Company.”
On the 8th, Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea International Trade Association held the “2026 Professional Trading Company Designation Ceremony” at the Parnas Hotel in Seoul and newly designated 99 outstanding export-specialized companies, including Kolon Global, as Professional Trading Companies. SETOWORKS and several other companies whose designation periods had expired were re-designated after review.
Professional Trading Companies are responsible for identifying export opportunities in line with changes in the global market, discovering Korean manufacturers, and creating export results. Since the system was institutionalized under Korea’s Foreign Trade Act in 2014, the number of designated companies has grown from 500 in 2023 to 607 this year. Export agency volume increased from USD 5.5 billion in 2022 to USD 7.0 billion in 2025, surpassing USD 7.0 billion for three consecutive years. Designated companies receive matching consultation opportunities with promising Korean manufacturers, tax benefits such as extended customs duty payment deadlines and installment payments, financial support including a 40% discount on short-term export insurance premiums from Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and a 1.5 times increase in export credit guarantee limits, as well as marketing support such as additional points when applying for KOTRA overseas exhibitions.
Founded in 2012, SETOWORKS began as a management consulting company based in Korea and Japan. Since 2016, it has established official partnerships with leading crowdfunding platforms in key markets, including Kickstarter in the United States, Makuake in Japan, and Zeczec in Taiwan, while setting up local entities and building a four-country global one-stop market entry network. To date, the company has carried out more than 1,400 global crowdfunding and GTM projects, the largest number in Korea, and has served for six consecutive years as a government export voucher service provider.
Alongside this re-designation, SETOWORKS will hold a pop-up store at TSUTAYA in Futako-Tamagawa, Tokyo, Japan from the 24th to the 27th to support Korean SMEs and mid-sized companies entering the Japanese market. The pop-up store is designed to introduce promising Korean products to local consumers and explore follow-up opportunities for distribution expansion.
SETOWORKS plans to continue expanding its role from crowdfunding-based market validation to a comprehensive GTM partner that supports overseas sales channels, buyer discovery, local pop-ups, and distribution expansion.
SETOWORKS said it will continue strengthening its global market entry support model so that more Korean SMEs and mid-sized companies can reduce trial and error in overseas expansion and turn market validation into actual exports.
On the 8th, Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea International Trade Association held the “2026 Professional Trading Company Designation Ceremony” at the Parnas Hotel in Seoul and newly designated 99 outstanding export-specialized companies, including Kolon Global, as Professional Trading Companies. SETOWORKS and several other companies whose designation periods had expired were re-designated after review.
Professional Trading Companies are responsible for identifying export opportunities in line with changes in the global market, discovering Korean manufacturers, and creating export results. Since the system was institutionalized under Korea’s Foreign Trade Act in 2014, the number of designated companies has grown from 500 in 2023 to 607 this year. Export agency volume increased from USD 5.5 billion in 2022 to USD 7.0 billion in 2025, surpassing USD 7.0 billion for three consecutive years. Designated companies receive matching consultation opportunities with promising Korean manufacturers, tax benefits such as extended customs duty payment deadlines and installment payments, financial support including a 40% discount on short-term export insurance premiums from Korea Trade Insurance Corporation and a 1.5 times increase in export credit guarantee limits, as well as marketing support such as additional points when applying for KOTRA overseas exhibitions.
Founded in 2012, SETOWORKS began as a management consulting company based in Korea and Japan. Since 2016, it has established official partnerships with leading crowdfunding platforms in key markets, including Kickstarter in the United States, Makuake in Japan, and Zeczec in Taiwan, while setting up local entities and building a four-country global one-stop market entry network. To date, the company has carried out more than 1,400 global crowdfunding and GTM projects, the largest number in Korea, and has served for six consecutive years as a government export voucher service provider.
Alongside this re-designation, SETOWORKS will hold a pop-up store at TSUTAYA in Futako-Tamagawa, Tokyo, Japan from the 24th to the 27th to support Korean SMEs and mid-sized companies entering the Japanese market. The pop-up store is designed to introduce promising Korean products to local consumers and explore follow-up opportunities for distribution expansion.
SETOWORKS plans to continue expanding its role from crowdfunding-based market validation to a comprehensive GTM partner that supports overseas sales channels, buyer discovery, local pop-ups, and distribution expansion.
SETOWORKS said it will continue strengthening its global market entry support model so that more Korean SMEs and mid-sized companies can reduce trial and error in overseas expansion and turn market validation into actual exports.