On Dec. 23, the Software Export to America (SETA) was officially launched, with the goal of facilitating business-to-business exchanges between Korean IT companies, and providing opportunities to discuss about the oversea market.
Signatories to the SETA are 12 software companies- including Namo Interactive Inc., Daulsoft, Mureka, Somansa, ViaScope, Warevally, Inervit, Infinitt Healthcare, Jiransoft, Tobesoft, Fasoo.com, Haansoft, and ESTsoft Corp.- who either have already entered the US market or are preparing for making inroads into the US market.
Kim Sang-bae, head of Namo Interactive Inc, will serve as the first chairman of the SETA. Along with Jiransoft and Unetsystem, Namo Interactive Inc established a foreign sales corporation and has been blazing a trail in the US market in the past decade.
SETA includes the following: conducting market research on Korea-US IT businesses and researches on business models; collecting data on IT management; promoting interaction between Korean IT companies and their US counterparts; exploring ways to open up a new market; mediating between businesses; and holding biannual seminars on IT management and business at a venue chosen on a rotation basis between South Korea and the U.S. Kim Sang-Bae, the first chairman of the SETA said, "The reason why I was chosen as the first chairman is because I have banged my head against the wall, shedding a flood of blood in the US market, not because our company has notched up splendid achievements in the US market. The first chairman, aged 49, stressed that member companies must first sit down and listen to stories of failure before they take pains to poke some holes in the giant wall of the US market."
He went on to say, "The primary goal of this gathering should be neither to disclose the secret of exporting goods to the US nor to introduce foreign market partners to one another. We as comrades should form a strong alliance to help other member companies shed less blood, and strike a chord with one another, setting off on a long and bumpy journey."
Chairman Kim added, "When I worked for Samsung Electronics in the past, I personally felt that there was a huge brand gap between Sony TVs and Samsung TVs, but, today, the tide has been turned in the market. I will also work hard to get across my deep conviction that global software giants like Oracle and Microsoft can indeed emerge on Korean soil.
