AustCham Korea's Members and Sponsors are the lifeblood of our organisation, and the Chamber would like to extend its appreciation to all those who supported us this year.

To ensure we can continue our work in fostering and strengthening a diverse business community, the Chamber would like to seek your support once again in 2023.

The membership renewal process has begun and members should have received a friendly reminder email from our GlueUp membership platform in their inbox. If you haven't received your renewal notice, or would like to discuss how the Chamber can assist you in 2023, please be sure to reach out to the Secretariat at membership@austchamkorea.org.

Nominations for the 2023 Board of Directors are now open. For any questions, please email exec@austchamkorea.org.

Please find the nomination form and information pack on our website below.

On Wednesday, November 30th, AustCham Korea hosted a Networking Night at Blacklist in Itaewon, supported by ANZA Korea.

Joined by a delegation of University of Adelaide students who were in-country on a Seoul Biotechnology Study Tour, the November Networking Night provided a great opportunity for students, business connections and members of the general community to network and mingle.

With Christmas on the horizon, this Networking Night was the final event hosted by AustCham Korea for 2022. With 2023 just around the corner, and many fun events already in the pipeline, stay tuned on all AustCham Korea channels for upcoming networking opportunities.

On Friday, November 25th, AustCham Korea hosted its latest corporate social responsibility (CSR) project to help renovate the house of a disadvantaged, elderly resident living alone.

After meeting at 10 a.m., the group of AustCham Korea volunteers spent the day working alongside representatives from Citizens for Decent Housing (www.home1004.or.kr) to help with wallpapering, insulating, re-flooring, changing lights to low-energy, low-cost LEDs, and cleaning. This was all to improve the living environment for the elderly resident before winter.

AustCham Korea would like to thank our CSR sub-committee members Harry Lee and Eunhwa Kim (EH Advisory Group) for their assistance on the day, along with Citizens for Decent Housing for supporting the event.

On Wednesday, November 16, the AustCham Korea Secretariat connected with a Silver Sponsor Curtin University representative, Joanna Elfving-Hwang, during her recent visit to South Korea. The team was delighted to discuss future educational prospects between Australia and the Republic of Korea with a representative of the Australian education industry.

International students highly regard tertiary education in Australia, and Joanna's impact in developing Korean studies at Curtin University as an Associate Professor of Korean Society and Culture is a positive step towards growing the Australia-Korea relationship through education.

On Monday, November 21st, a group of biotech students from the University of Adelaide met at the Australia Centre to learn about the bilateral relationship between Korea and Australia.

There, Deputy Head of Mission, Dr Alexandra Siddall, gave opening remarks, after which Stephen Kidd, Deputy Director, Australian Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Ecology, and Associate Head (Learning and Teaching), School of Biological Sciences, gave an overview of the purpose of the visit. Following this, Julie Quinn, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner at Austrade, alongside the AustCham Korea Secretariat, presented an overview of the Republic of Korea, the Australia-Korea relationship, and what Austrade and AustCham Korea are doing in-country in Korea.

The University of Adelaide’s Seoul-changing Biotechnology study tour is a program supported by the New Colombo Plan mobility grant that offers students an incredible opportunity to be immersed in the global, cutting edge and rapidly growing world of biotechnology. During this program, students had the opportunity to network and meet with delegates from Austrade, the Australian Government, as well as people in industry working in South Korea.

The tour included visits to biotechnology companies, research facilities and research institutes to help students actively see the process of basic science being developed. The aim of the study tour was to provide University of Adelaide students with a unique opportunity to experience the scientific and dynamic business aspects as they are applied in the commercial world, whilst also building on students’ theoretical knowledge.

AustCham Korea thanks the University of Adelaide for the opportunity to connect in Seoul and looks forward to seeing more students here in the future.

On the 25th of November, AustCham Korea Executive Director Rowan Petz attended the Australia Korea Young Professionals Association (AKYPA) networking event in Melbourne.

Hosted at the ‘Guhng The Palace’, the night opened with speeches from the Korean Consul General to Melbourne, Mr Changhoon Yi, KOTRA Melbourne Deputy Director, Mr Jaeyoung Choi and AKPYA’s President, Mr Malcolm Roberts.

The event consisted of an impressive group of passionate and aspiring professionals, all playing their part in fostering a stronger Australia-Korea relationship.

On Monday, November 14, AustCham Korea participated in a Soup Kitchen initiative hosted by the defence attaché of the Australian Embassy in Korea. The group met at the Seoul Senior Welfare Center (서울노인복지센터 – 중앙고령자취업센터) to assist with the preparation and service of meals to disadvantaged community members.

On the day, the Chamber Secretariat, Australian Defence language students and Griffith University intern Anthony Nicholson from AustCham Korea member Gogozing Migration gave their time to help run the Soup Kitchen, with jobs ranging from serving food to dish-washing and cleaning tables.

AustCham Korea would like to extend our special thanks to Harry Lee from the CSR Sub-Committee for his time and effort in helping organise the event. If any AustCham Korea members are interested in volunteering at the Seoul Senior Welfare Center, please reach out to us at info@austchamkorea.org.

Want to help create a new generation of Australian leaders with a deep understanding of the Indo-Pacific? You can, by providing an internship opportunity to a New Colombo Plan (NCP) scholar in Korea.

Each year the Australian Government provides a life-changing experience to around 25 Australian undergraduates, lifting their knowledge of the Indo-Pacific, by supporting them to live and learn in Korea. While here, scholars are also encouraged to undertake internships to complement their formal study. This provides students with immersive in-country experiences, and deepens people-to-people and institutional relationships between Australia and the Republic of Korea.

In 2023 the NCP Scholars come from a range of backgrounds – accounting, finance, law, public relations, engineering, architecture, biomedicine, computer science & ICT. Some already speak Korean, others are currently learning.

If any member of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea is interested in hosting a scholar for a period of 1-6 months, please reach out to AustCham Korea, or to the Australian Embassy, who will put you in touch with the relevant student/s (seoul-inform@dfat.gov.au).

Australia’s biggest-selling comedian and star of the FX sitcom “Legit” and Comedy Central’s “The Jim Jefferies Show”, rock star comic Jim Jefferies will return to Seoul, South Korea tonight, December 5 at the Kwanglim Arts Center (Sinsa-Dong), as a part of his 2022 MOIST TOUR.

Please note, this is not an AustCham-associated event. For all enquires, email global_yesticket@yes24.com.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AustCham Korea) is delighted to welcome SYSKIM to the Chamber as a Silver Sponsor.

SYSKIM commenced operation in 1995. It is a 100% Australian owned and operated company with its international headquarter located in Sydney, New South Wales, and global offices located in Korea and North America. SYSKIM supplies advanced technologies in areas of communications, broadcasting, mining and the defence industry.

SYSKIM recently developed circular connectors demanded by the RF industry. With its primary manufacturing and assembly facilities located in Korea, linked with specialised engineering and final stage assembly facilities in Australia. SYSKIM provides engineering manufacturing according to specialised world standards for the transport, military and RF industries, as well as general applications.

Find out more about SYSKIM on their website.

AustCham Korea Gold Sponsor POSCO International declared it would invest 3.8 trillion won between 2023 and 2025 to establish a liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chain.

1.6 trillion won will be invested in constructing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. Funds will be used to build the Gwangyang one and two LNG terminals, the Dangjin LNG terminal and the North American liquefaction plants.

It will invest 1.3 trillion won to expand natural gas production in order to develop an onshore block of Australia's Senex Energy, which it acquired this year, to develop a Mahar gas field in Myanmar and to start new rounds of exploration in Southeast Asia. Next, 700 billion won and 200 billion won will be invested in LNG power generation and eco-friendly energy.

Read more here.

Congratulations to AustCham Korea's Silver Sponsor, Australian Strategic Materials (ASM), and its subsidiary, KSM Metals Co., Ltd, for signing a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korean Development Bank (KDB) and the Chungcheongbuk-do Province to cooperate in establishing a rare earths global supply chain.

KDB is a Korean state-owned bank and has a mission of establishing and fostering the Korean economy, industries, infrastructure, and the finance and corporate system.

The MOU provides for cooperation in the areas of research and development, investment activities and development of a rare earths cluster in Chungcheongbuk-do, where ASM’s Korean Metals Plant is located.

Read more here.

AustCham Korea Chairman and Partner at New Electric Partners, Mr Ross Gregory, was recently featured in the Financial Times, expressing his opinion on the future of the EV battery industry and its reliance on China.

Goldman Sachs analysts believe that protectionist policies from the US and Europe, coupled with unprecedented spending by non-Chinese companies, will have the potential to eliminate the west’s reliance on Chinese battery materials by 2030.

Mr Gregory, who was interviewed by the Financial Times noted that despite the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August and the recent surge in gigafactory investment, the Goldman costs estimate appeared far too low, the timeframe was optimistic and the expectations for the impact of battery recycling were unrealistic.

“There’s some momentum forming, but there still isn’t a strong preparedness to invest upstream by anyone apart from Chinese players. As an example, there hasn’t been a notable Australian greenfield battery mining project developed with any foreign major investment at all,” he said, adding: “The likely growth of EV infrastructure in China over that period is going to be so massive that it will still outstrip Europe and the US".

Read more here.

AustCham Korea would like to congratulate our member, Hillside Collegiate IS, for recently being accredited to deliver an Australian Secondary Certificate of Education through the South Australian Certificate of Education qualification.

We are excited to see Korean students experience Australian education right here in the Republic of Korea.