KOTRA, initially the Korea Trade Promotion Corporation, was established in 1962 as a national trade promotion organization. Since then, it has successfully facilitated Korea's rapid export-led economic development through various trade promotion activities such as overseas market surveys and business matchmaking.

In August 1995, cross-border investment promotion and support for technological and industrial cooperation projects was added to KOTRA's mandate, and it was renamed the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency(KOTRA).
KOTRA currently operates Invest KOREA, the national investment promotion agency. Originally initiated as the Korea Investment Service Center(KISC) in 1998, the agency was relaunched as Invest KOREA in November 2003 to support foreign investors by offering more powerful incentives and an expanded range of services.

KOTRA is now well-equipped to pursue its twin mandates of trade and investment promotion to enhance national prosperity and competitiveness, with the ultimate goal of positioning Korea as the business and economic hub of Northeast Asia. With its long-term experience and expertise, KOTRA serves and assists all interested parties worldwide to do business with Korea.

In order to execute its mandates more efficiently, KOTRA has opened an extensive worldwide network of overseas Korea Trade Centers(KTC). Some 105 KTCs are operating in 75 countries as of now.

And to take maximum advantage of the era of E-Commerce, KOTRA launched the interactive Internet portal sites of INVEST KOREA Online(formerly Cyber KISC) in 2003 and BuyKorea in 2004, respectively.

KOTRA Academy was launched in 2003 as a professional learning center for international business. In the long run, KOTRA's well-trained trade and investment manpower, armed with relevant theoretical and practical knowledge, will bolster the nation's trade and investment infrastructure.