Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

South Korea and Vietnam Hold 9th Round of FTA Talks

December 8, 2014 – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that South Korea and Vietnam will hold a 9th round of negotiations towards a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), from December 8 to December 12 in Seoul.   The Korean delegation will be led by the MOTIE’s Director General for FTA Policy, Kim Hak-do, and will include representatives from relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance; the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.   The Vietnamese delegation will be led by Bui Huy Son, the Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE) within the Ministry of Industry and Trade.   The South Korea-Vietnam FTA negotiations began in August, 2012. At the 9th round of negotiations, the two countries will continue in-depth discussions on goods, services and investment.   If signed, the South Korea-Vietnam FTA is expected to further strengthen the economic and trade relationship between the two countries by establishing a higher degree of trade liberalization than the existing FTA between South Korea and ASEAN.   Vietnam was South Korea's 9th largest trading partner and 4th largest investment destination as of the end of 2013.   ㆍExports _ 2008:7,805(35.5), 2009:7,149(△8.4), 2010:9,652(35.0), 2011:13,465(39.5), 2012:15,946(18.4), 2013:21,088(32.2), 2014(Jan.-Aug.):14,291(6.0) ㆍImports _ 2008:2,037(46.4), 2009:2,370(16.3), 2010:3,331(40.5), 2011:5,084(52.6), 2012:5,719(12.5), 2013:7,175(25.4), 2014(Jan.-Aug.):4,847(9.9) ㆍTrade Balance _ 2008:5,768, 2009:4,780, 2010:6,321, 2011:8,381, 2012:10,227, 2013:13,912, 2014(Jan.-Aug.):9,445 ㆍTotal Trade Volume _ 2008:9,842, 2009:9,519, 2010:12,983, 2011:18,549, 2012:21,665, 2013:28,263, 2014(Jan.-Aug.):19,138 《Unit: US$ million, (%)/Source: KITA》   For inquiry, contact the foreign media spokesman’s office at motiefmso@gmail.com date2014-12-24

Sixth Round of RCEP Talks to be Held in India

December 1, 2014 – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that the sixth round of negotiations for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will take place in Greater Noida, India, from Dec. 1 to 5. The RCEP is a free trade agreement being negotiated between 10 ASEAN member countries and 6 of its free trading partners: namely, South Korea, India, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The South Korean delegation will be led by Kim Young-moo, Director General for East Asia FTA Negotiations of MOTIE, and will include representatives from relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. In this round of talks, the participating countries are expected to discuss the level of market liberalization for products, services and investments. There will also be discussions on issues related to small and medium-sized firms, e-trading and government procurement as the countries move to ensure the RCEP agreement will be a high-level free trade pact, MOTIE said in a statement. The participating countries aim to conclude RCEP negotiations by December 2015. For inquiry, contact the foreign media spokesman’s office at motiefmso@gmail.com date2014-12-24

South Korea and China’s Guizhou Province Discuss Bilateral Cooperation

November 25, 2014 – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced today that the MOTIE’s 2nd Vice Minister Moon Jae-do met with Meng Qiliang, vice-governor of Guizhou Province, in Seoul yesterday to discuss ways to promote bilateral economic and industrial cooperation between South Korea and the Chinese region. Guizhou Province, which is widely known as the gateway to the southwest region of China, is one of the core areas under China’s Western Development Strategy implemented in 2000, and is expected to be a growing partner for South Korea in economic cooperation. At the meeting, 2nd Vice Minister Moon stressed the importance of leveraging the South Korea-China FTA for trade expansion and industrial cooperation, and proposed that the two sides work together to find new growth engines for both countries. Vice-governor Meng Qiliang expressed his hopes for investment by South Korean companies in Guizhou Province’s key industries, including the chemical, heavy and tourism industries. For inquiry, contact the foreign media spokesman’s office at motiefmso@gmail.com date2014-12-24

Korea and New Zealand enter an initial bilateral FTA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on December 22 that Korea and New Zealand entered an initial bilateral FTA on December 22, 2014 in Wellington, New Zealand.   The English version of the FTA is posted on MOTIE's FTA Homepage (www.fta.go.kr), followed by the Korean version after proofreading.   The two countries agreed to officially sign the FTA in the first half of 2015, and the FTA will be officially put in force after ratifications by the National Assembly.     * Short version date2014-12-22

Free Trade Agreement

Overview Current Status Publications Links Overview A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a special treaty between member states which facilitates freer movement of goods and services by relaxing tariff and non-tariff barriers for goods, services, investments, intellectual property, government procurements, etc. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is the major part of the Regional Trade Agreement (RTA), and is the first step to achieve a complete economic integration. Free Trade Agreement &r date2014-10-27

MOTIE Minister attends 11th Korea-ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting

On August 26, 2014, Yoon Sang-jick, Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy participated in the 11th Korea-ASEAN Economic Ministerial Level Talk Meeting and the 17th ASEAN+3 Economic Ministerial Meeting. In the meeting, member nations exchanged in-depth discussions in terms of additional trade liberalization and the increased utilization of KOR–AEASN FTA before the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.       date2014-09-03

In-depth discussions to be held with ASEAN nations on trade liberalization and cooperation measures

Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy Yoon Sang-jick will be participating in the Fourth Economic Ministers Meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) (KOR-ASEAN․ASEAN+3, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and East Asia Summit (EAS), which will be held in Nay Phy Taw, Myanmar for two days starting on August 26. The KOR–ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting will provide a venue for in-depth discussions of measures for the additional liberalization and the date2014-08-28

Results of the 8th round of the Korea-New Zealand FTA negotiation

date2014-08-11

Framework for Korea-China FTA Service and Investment Negotiations Built at the 12th Korea-China FTA

The 12th Korea-China FTA negotiation took place at EXCO, Daegu, over a five-day period from July 14, 2014 (Mon) through July 18, 2014 (Fri). Chief FTA Negotiator Woo Taehee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, led the Korean delegation team, which consisted of members of related government agencies. The Chinese delegation team, which consisted of members of related government agencies, was led by Shouwen Wang, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Commerce. During this negotiation, the two countries discussed all areas of the FTA, including goods, services and investments, Rules and areas of cooperation. In relation to goods, the two parties exchanged views on and focused on narrowing the gap on the terms of early tariff exemption on China’s manufacturing sector and on agricultural and fisheries goods, a sensitive issue for Korea. The two countries reached an agreement on the approach to market opening, which has been the biggest issue in the services and investment area. In relation to the services sector, Korea has long supported the idea of a negative approach (listing the areas not opened), while China has supported positive approach(listing the areas to be opened). In relation to investment, Korea had supported reflecting the investment liberalization factors, while China had supported including only investment protection factors. This negotiation achieved fruitful results in terms of Rules and Economic cooperation. The two countries reached a full agreement on the chapter regarding competition and e-commerce, and made the substantial achievement on the environment chapter. There were meaningful improvements in customs procedures, economic cooperation and government procurement. The two countries agreed that the 13th negotiations would be held in China in September 2014, at a date and venue to be determined. Head Kim Young-moo (044-203-5780), Director Cho Soojung (02-734-1863), East Asia FTA Bureau date2014-07-21

5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Negotiations Completed

This round of negotiations was participated in by a total of 600 delegation members from 16 member countries. The Korean delegation, headed by Director-General for FTA Negotiations of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy Kim Young-moo, included officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. ※ 10 ASEAN countries + 6 AFPs (ASEAN FTA Partners, : Korea, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and India) During this 5th round of negotiations, discussions were held on Trade in Goods, Services, Investment, Competition, Intellectual Property Rights, Economic Cooperation and the Legal/Institutional Issues, with the aim of achieving visible outcomes for the 2nd RCEP Ministerial meeting to be held in Myanmar in August 2014. Discussions were also held on whether SMEs(Small and Medium Enterprises) , e-commerce, global value chain and government procurement will be included in the scope of negotiations. The Korean delegation actively involved in negotiations by releasing a paper on the Key elements to be explored in the Dispute Settlement Chapter, and submitting the joint non-paper on Government Procurement and SMEs with New Zealand as well. The next round of negotiations (the 6th round of RCEP negotiations) will be held in India in December 2014. date2014-07-02