Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Deputy Minister for FTA Negotiations Roh Keon-ki is leading the Korean delegation in the first official round of negotiations for the Korea-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) through July 9–11 in Bangkok.

 

With Deputy Minister Roh as Chief Delegate, the Korean delegation is composed of representatives of relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF), Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW). The Thai delegation is led by Chotima Iemsawasdikul, Director-General of the Department of Trade Negotiations of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand. The two delegations are to engage in negotiations on goods, services, investment, digital, government procurement, and intellectual property.

 

Since jointly declaring the commencement of negotiations in March, Korea and Thailand have pushed forward with preliminary procedures for the official negotiating round, during which they aim to lay down the groundwork for accelerating future negotiations.

 

Deputy Minister Roh stated that while the two countries have already established trade agreements through the Korea-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the level of their trade and economic cooperation has room for improvement, highlighting that a bilateral EPA catered to both countries’ needs will serve as an institutional foundation for upgrading the Korea-Thailand economic cooperation.