Students So-young Kim, Su-jeong Ahn, and Eun-bi Choi (Department of International Trade) received the Best Award (the Minister's Prize) from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at the '2021 University FTA Utilization Competition' hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The competition drew 44 papers from 13 universities nationwide. After first- and second-stage reviews, the final winners were selected.

The Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) student team attracted attention with a research paper titled 'Export Strategies for Processed Baby Food Utilizing the Korea-ASEAN FTA'.

The students were praised for presenting a practical strategy for entering the Vietnamese market for processed baby food by leveraging FTAs, based on products from LUSOL, a processed baby-food company located in the Korea Food Industry Cluster in Iksan.

So-young Kim, a third-year student in the Department of International Trade, said, 'I am deeply honored and moved to receive this meaningful award. I am grateful to the professor who guided us and encouraged us not to give up until the end. I hope our ideas will serve as benchmark examples for small and medium-sized enterprises and help improve FTA utilization rates.'