President Moon Jae-in says South Korea faces a new challenge of becoming a leader in the fourth industrial revolution and overcoming the high waves of trade protectionism.

Giving congratulatory remarks at ceremony on Thursday marking the nation's 56th Trade Day, Moon stressed the need to maintain the competitiveness of key domestic industries while securing a new engine for exports.

He said exports of the top ten exporting nations have all decreased due to slowing global growth and the U.S.-China trade war but South Korea has recorded one trillion dollars in trade volume for the third consecutive year and a trade surplus for the eleventh year in a row. 

President Moon noted that the fundamentals of the South Korean economy remain strong.

He also said business people, scientists, engineers and the South Korean public are united in fighting against Japan's export restrictions and have achieved domestic production of materials, parts and equipment and diversification in their import channels.

Moon said South Korea has turned Japan's export control into an opportunity to raise industrial competitiveness.