KOTRA chief becomes first Korean to be awarded Cuban prize

Oh Young-ho

The head of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency has become the first South Korean to be awarded Cuba’s Jose Marti prize for his contribution to promoting bilateral economic and cultural cooperation between Seoul and Havana, the state-run agency organization said Monday.

It said Oh Young-ho was presented with the prize in the Cuban capital by the Jose Marti foundation.

The prize rewards meritorious activities in accordance with the ideals and spirit of Marti, a Cuban independence leader and thinker.

KOTRA has helped air popular Korean TV dramas on the Caribbean island state and open Korean language classes, and such measures have raised positive awareness of South Korea among Cubans in general to boost sales of Hyundai and Kia cars and electronic appliances made by Samsung Electronics, the trade organization said.

The agency is currently participating in the Havana International Fair. It is operating a Korea pavilion at the fair. (Yonhap)