Eximbank joins forces with BGK, K-Sure to bolster Korea-Poland ties

Chairman and President of Korea Eximbank Yoon Hee-sung (left), BGK Head Beata Daszynska-Muzyczka (center) and Chairman and President of K-Sure Lee In-ho pose for a picture after a signing event for MOU in Warsaw, Poland, July 13. (Korea Eximbank)

Korea Eximbank announced Sunday that it had signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding with Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-Sure) and Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego from Poland to enhance economic and financial cooperation between the two countries.

BGK, established in 1924 for the country’s economic and industrial development, is the sole state-owned bank in Poland that provides loans and operates and manages government funds.

The signing event was held Thursday at BGK’s headquarters in Warsaw, with top executives, including Chairman and President of Korea Eximbank Yoon Hee-sung, Chairman and President of K-Sure Lee In-ho, and BGK's head Beata Daszynska-Muzyczka, in attendance. The event followed as the two chairmen accompanied President Yoon Suk Yeol as part of the economic delegation during his official visit to Poland.

Under the partnership, the three institutions plan to financially support and cooperate in areas including infrastructure, transportation, and renewable energy and jointly finance the overseas expansion of companies from both countries, as well as provide support for personnel exchanges between the institutions.

The latest partnership comes amid Eximbank's push to bolster its ties with BGK which has been forged since the successful exports of Korea’s defense weapons to Poland last year.

In June 2022, South Korea signed major deals with Poland to supply its defense systems, including K2 battle tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, and FA-50 light attack aircraft, and since then, the two countries have been ramping up economic cooperation.

Also, in recent years, Korean firms have actively been expanding into the country’s advanced strategic industries such as batteries, making Poland one of Korea's top three trading partners within the European Union.

The latest partnership is expected to deliver momentum for Korean companies which are operating overseas construction projects and investment and development businesses in the energy sector in Poland as well as its neighboring countries.

"With this MOU, strategic partnerships between institutions will be further solidified not only in the defense sector but also in areas including infrastructure and renewable energy,” Eximbank President Yoon said in the signing ceremony.

Yoon added, "It will greatly help us discover and explore new business and export opportunities for Korean companies in Poland and its neighboring countries."

"The Polish development bank is dedicated to long-term and fruitful cooperation with South Korean partners. I am confident that the projects co-financed by our institutions will strengthen economic relations between Poland and South Korea," said BGK's head Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka.

"They will also contribute to the global expansion of both Polish and Korean businesses. Moreover, I do believe that our cooperation will have a positive impact on the economic development of Central and Eastern Europe, including the Three Seas region."

By Song Jung-hyun(junghyun792@heraldcorp.com)