Kang Seong-ju, chief executive of the state-run Korea Post, stressed the role of the postal network in an era of global e-commerce during an annual meeting with Kahala Posts Group members, officials said Sunday.

Kang was one of 11 representatives of member nations that took part in the KPG meeting held in Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, on Thursday. Members at the latest meeting agreed on increasing the level of customs clearance information exchange between members to 80 percent by 2021. 

During the meeting, Kang promoted Korea’s technology application using artificial intelligence, unmanned aerial vehicles and big data, which enhanced work efficiency and relieved the workload of Korean mail delivery people.

Kang also said postal administrations’ efforts for international cooperation could lay the foundation to improve the e-commerce network.

During his stay in Queensland, Kang signed a memorandum of understanding with his Australian counterpart Christine Holgate. Through the agreement, Korea Post and Australia Post are to exchange technology application in the postal system and discover business opportunities from the global e-commerce industry. 

KPG is an international alliance of postal services of Hong Kong, China, Spain, Canada, Australia, the United States, Thailand, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and Korea. Of all deliveries on Express Mail Service, 3 in 4 are made on the network formed by the KPG member nations.

By Son Ji-hyoung
(consnow@heraldcorp.com)