South Korea will work to nearly double its exports via electronic trading this year, a move that will include support for some 20,000 products, the government said Monday.

The plan was unveiled at the first meeting of online exporters hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

"Exports through e-trade will likely provide a greater opportunity for small and medium-sized firms and one-man startup businesses rather than large companies," the ministry said in a press release.

The country's online exports rose over 21 percent on-year to 460 billion won ($421.8 million) last year from about 380 billion won in 2013, according to the ministry.

The government plans to boost the amount to over 700 billion won this year, it said.

The move largely targets China's online market, which jumped 78.5 percent on-year to about $301 billion in 2013.

The ministry will provide support to some 1,500 local firms, up from 1,000 in 2014, in having their products registered at Taobao, an online shopping mall run by Alibaba Group, one of the largest online retailers in China.

It will also help create personal websites for 20,000 local products in foreign languages, the ministry said.

A new cargo service, using passenger and cargo ferries between South Korea's Incheon and China's Qingtao, will be launched before the end of June, reducing the shipping cost between the two countries by up to 40 percent, it said. (Yonhap)