"We have plans to create an e-marketplace Asia network with Korea , China and Japan as the central node connecting to India , Malaysia , Thailand , and others."

Man-Young, Hyun, CEO of iMarketKorea, who recently established a base in Japan , stated the company's plans to establish businesses in Malaysia , India , and other Asian countries. CEO Hyun said that while Korean MRO Electronic Purchase Services has reached considerable proportions, similar services in other countries are still in their infancy, and their desire to grow creates an advantage for iMarketKorea in this regional market.

iMarketKorea, the No.1 e-marketplace company in Korea , has primarily been concentrating on domestic demands, but has expanded its business overseas this year. First, they have plans to construct a stable network in the Asian region before expanding the business to America and Europe next year. Their strategic partnership with Smitomo Company of Japan , formed earlier this year, was the beginning of this plan. The reason iMarketKorea is concentrating on the foreign market is because international competition for electronic commercial transactions in B2B is heating up.

Mr. Hyun explained that as cost saving has become a focal point of competition for large corporations, consulting companies such as Accenture and AT Kearney have entered agency transactions recently, considering optimizing purchases through use of the e-marketplace as logical management. iMarketKorea has increased their sales from 560 billion won in 2003 to 800 billion won last year. Hyun said their target is to reach 900 billion won this year, and 1 trillion won next year, by allowing Korean companies to purchase international products at a reasonable price.