As Novac/Bernard Ivezic writes on the 6th of November, 2020, the Zagreb-based company DOK-ING, a manufacturer of Croatian robots, is one of the world's ten largest manufacturers of demining robots. It has opened a company in South Korea and the new subsidiary, which will support and maintain Croatian robots for customers on the South Korean market, is part of this company's strategic plan to expand its operations across Asia this year and next year.

DOK-ING plans to open a branch in China after South Korea, and dicsussions surrounding entering the Chinese market, as has since been learned, have progressed. Gordan Pesic, head of sales and business development at DOK-ING, says they have opened a new company with a strategic partner.

''We're constantly looking for strategic partners. This is how we build a distribution and sales network, and this is especially interesting for us at the moment in Asia, where the demand for robots is growing, and by entering the South Korean market, through partnership, we have opportunities for new collaborations,'' explained Pesic.

He stated that DOK-ING sold its first MV-4 demining robot to the South Korean army last year and delivered the same back in May this year. It was their first job on the market there. In the meantime, he added, DOK-ING won a new tender in which the army ordered two more Croatian robots for the purpose of demining. The value of the first contract stood at a massive 5.3 million kuna, and the value of the new one is around the 12 million kuna mark. These two new Croatian robots will be delivered next year.

DOK-ING's Croatian robots are part of the beginning of a new unit within the South Korean military whose goal is to deal with remote and robotic demining methods and other engineering jobs. In addition to delivering robots, the job involves education. The first Croatian robot is already in use in the demilitarised zone between South and North Korea.

''We entered South Korea strategically, considering that we sold several robots there last year and this year. As a development company, the closer we are to the customer and the better we can understand their plans and needs, the better we can offer solutions and robots,'' noted Pesic.

Along with South Korea, DOK-ING has been cooperating the most with the United States this year. And there, their biggest customer is the army. Last year, the Zagreb manufacturer delivered six Croatian robots to the US Army, and by the middle of this year it had delivered three more.

Pesic says that they are recording good results in other business segments as well, especially in ore mining robots. This year, the Zagreb company received special recognition in Russia, where, thanks to the XLPD robot, the efficiency of ore extraction rose up to 43 percent in hard-to-reach-areas. These hard-to-reach locations make up a third of uranium deposits, so new contracts are likely to keep on coming to this successful Croatian company.

''We expect that 2020 and 2021 will be record-breaking, because we will have large deliveries,'' concluded Pesic.

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ZAGREB, July 2, 2019 - Six Korean police officers will be assisting their Croatian colleagues in major tourist destinations during July and August as part of the "Safe Tourism Season" project.

"This is the first time that Korean police officers will be part of this project and they will be located in Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik. Their task is to help Croatian police officers in communication with Korean tourists," Zagreb police chief Marko Rašić said on Tuesday, presenting the 13th edition of the Safe Tourism Season project.

Considering the excellent experience with our Chinese colleagues and tourists last year, this year should be just as successful with our Korean colleagues, Rašić added.

Korean Vice-Consul Junghuyun Park expressed satisfaction that Korea had joined the project to assist Croatian police officers with Korean tourists.

The Korean Embassy in Zagreb has gladly joined this commendable project and I am sure that it will contribute to cooperation in other areas too, Park said.

Ivana Mahnić from the Zagreb Tourism Board said that Zagreb had become a very popular destination for Korean tourists and that 100,000 Koreans visited the city last year, which put them among the most numerous foreign visitors in Croatia's capital.

The Safe Tourism Season project includes foreign police officers, and the first to join the project were Hungarian police, in 2006.

Over the years, a total of 804 police officers from 19 countries came to Croatia during the tourist season to assist their Croatian colleagues.

More news about relations between Croatia and South Korea can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, May 27, 2019 - A delegation of the South Korean province of Chungcheongnam-do on Monday visited the Zagreb County to discuss cooperation in areas of common interest, and the two sides signed an agreement on cooperation.

Zagreb County head Stjepan Kožić said that the meeting was organised to explore possibilities for joint projects in the economic sector, including tourism.

The two regions have already been cooperating, Kožić said and in that context noted that the number of overnight stays and arrivals of South Korean tourists in Zagreb County in 2018 was 113% higher than in 2017.

South Koreans recognise Zagreb County as a tourist destination, Kožić said, adding that he hoped the number of visits would continue to grow.

He recalled that some ten days ago an 80 million euro agreement was signed between the South Korean car maker Hyundai and Croatia's Rimac Automobili.

The president of the assembly of Chungcheongnam-do province, Yoo Byung Kook, said that South Koreans loved Croatia and were interested in cooperation in culture, economy, tourism, medicine and other areas.

During their stay in Croatia, the South Korean delegation will also visit a special hospital for rehabilitation in Ivanić Grad.

More news about relations between Croatia and South Korea can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, April 11, 2019 - This year, six police officers from South Korea will take part in the "Safe Tourist Season" projects, according to the Croatian Police Directorate where on Thursday a cooperation agreement was signed by South Korean National Police Chief Min Gab Ryong and Croatian Chief of Police Nikola Milina.

Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split each will have two Korean police officers during the peak season so that their fellow citizens visiting Croatia could feel even safer.

Min Gab Ryong expressed satisfaction with the participation of the Korean police in the project, given that more than 400,000 Korean tourists have visited Croatia since the introduction of the direct flight connecting the two countries.

Since September 2018, Croatia's capital has been connected to South Korea's capital by Korean Air. Starting from September 1, 2018, Korean Air operates a direct service three times a week (Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday), flying between Seoul and Zagreb.

The project “Safe Tourist Season” is one of the many activities undertaken by the police, which has been implemented since 2006 in cooperation with police from 18 countries. Under that project, foreign police officers in the uniforms of their respective countries work together with their Croatian colleagues.

South Korea is the 19th country to be included in the project and the second Asian country after last year, six Chinese policemen were deployed in Dubrovnik.

More news about relations between Croatia and South Korea can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 5, 2018 - Economy Minister Darko Horvat said on Wednesday that he still had not received confirmation that Hyundai was coming to start car production in Croatia and announced that in a few days' time he would present two action plans to the cabinet aimed at removing or simplifying more than 300 different regulations.

Asked by reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting whether it was true that Hyundai was planning to come to Varaždin, Horvat said that at the moment there was no confirmation that any reputable car manufacturer planned to come to Croatia but added that he had contacted five key actors in the automobile industry and that Hyundai was among them.

The Jutarnji List daily on Wednesday reported that the South Korean automobile producer Hyundai has for two months been considering the possibility of launching production in Croatia. Hyundai would most probably build its plant in the Varaždin area and the plant would produce complete vehicles and not just car parts.

Commenting on the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) relative optimism regarding 2019, Horvat said that the government and all stakeholders on the political scene, too, shared that same optimism. He added that negative trends had been reversed but that he was not satisfied about growth rates and that in 2019 he expected further mild improvement.

HUP on Tuesday presented its annual Barometer of Optimism which shows that the majority of Croatian employers (51%) believe that the economic situation next year will remain about the same as this year while 34% consider that it will be a little better.

Asked to comment on criticism from HUP about excessive taxes, Horvat recalled that according to Eurostat data, Croatia's tax burden is ranked "fourth from the bottom in the EU28."

"I agree with them when they claim that there are too many administrative procedures and non-tax levies, and the two action plans that we will present to the cabinet in the next few days are designed to either abolish or simplify more than 300 different administrative measures and regulations and abolish or decrease some non-tax levies."

For more on the Croatian car industry, click here.

 ZAGREB, November 29, 2018 - Economic cooperation between Croatia and South Korea is increasing but not as fast as it could, heard the Croatian-South Korean Economic Forum of Croatian and Korean business people held in Zagreb on Thursday.

The South Korean Embassy in Croatia and the South Korean Business Centre organised the forum to connect South Korean and Croatian companies.

Special advisor to President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and advisor in the Croatian Chamber of Commerce Marko Jurčić said that cooperation between Croatia and South Korea was increasing, adding that opening the Croatian embassy in Seoul and launching a direct flight connecting the two capitals helped in that.

"As for foreign direct investment, we must focus on attracting investments from South Korea, as we haven't been very successful in that department so far, unlike other countries in Croatia's neighbourhood," Jurčić said.

According to the latest figures provided by the Croatian national statistical office, in the first eight months of this year, Croatia's exports to South Korea rose by as much as 117.5% on the year, reaching 509.33 million kuna. At the same time, imports from South Korea rose by 51% to approximately 917 million kuna.

Over the past several years, bilateral trade had not exceeded 340 million euro. Should efforts invested in boosting the economic cooperation continue, I am confident that the trade volume would more than double, said Jaeheung Park of the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

For more on the relations between Croatia and South Korea, click here.

ZAGREB, October 21, 2018 - Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović Buric will officially visit India on October 22 and South Korea on October 23-24, her ministry said in a statement.

ZAGREB, April 30, 2018 - Croatia hopes to open an embassy in Seoul soon, which would facilitate connections between businesses and speed up communication between the two countries, Deputy Parliament Speaker Željko Reiner said during a visit to South Korea on Monday.

ZAGREB, February 13, 2018 - The Croatian Tourist Board (HTZ) said on Tuesday it had presented Croatia's tourism to 40 South Korean partners as part of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, emphasising that it expected more South Korean tourists this year.

Three Zvijezda products will be available in South Korean supermarkets.