Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong has vowed to actively use the U.S.-China trade dispute as an opportunity to pursue technological innovation and explore new markets. 

Kim made the remark on Monday in Seoul during a meeting of a private advisory committee on trade issues. 

The minister said that although the trade dispute could damage South Korea’s exports, it is necessary to adopt a positive attitude to grab bigger chances in the crisis.

He cited that in the 1980s, South Korea developed automobiles and semiconductors as its key export items through drastic investments and advancements into markets while Japan’s auto and computer memory chip industries were hit by a trade conflict between Japan and the U.S.  

Kim stressed the need for South Korea to diversify its export markets, saying that in the coming years, the nation will expand its global free trade agreement network to cover roughly 90 percent of the world’s gross domestic product.