- Negotiations
In May 2007, the European Union and South Korea started negotiating a bilateral free trade agreement. It took effect on 1 July 2011.
This deal is part of the EU’s post-2006 "Global Europe" strategy to boost the competitiveness of EU corporations in the world by securing deeper commitments to neoliberal policies from trading partners, including expanded rights for European transnationals. In Korea, the European Union is trying to win equal, if not better, footing against US firms after the conclusion of the US-Korea FTA. (The EU makes stronger demands than the US on Korea in the areas of intellectual property, services, competition policy and environmental standards.)
Social movements from both sides mobilised against the deal’s potential impacts. One flashpoint of concern is for Korea’s agricultural sector, where pig farmers in particular are expected to suffer from an influx of subsidised EU pork as a result of this deal.
last update: May 2012
photo: European External Action Service - EEAS/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
28-Apr-2011
The National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee yesterday finally approved the country’s long-stalled free trade agreement with the European Union. But the DP quickly threw a wrench into the process.
24-Apr-2011
The government and the ruling Grand National Party are at odds over how to minimize the damage that the pending free trade deal with the European Union would inflict on the domestic livestock farm business.
11-Apr-2011
The history of the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea, or the BCCK, dates back to 1977 when seven British businessmen began holding regular meetings to discuss issues about promoting business in Korea.
8-Apr-2011
Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon, who is considered his government’s leading trade expert, is on the brink of resignation over translation errors in the Korean version of the Korea-European free trade agreement.
29-Mar-2011
Chosun Ilbo
The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade admitted that the second translation of the Korea-EU FTA contained a considerable number of fresh errors and agreed to submit a corrected version again.
8-Mar-2011
Korea Times
Discrepancies between the Korean and English versions cause uproar
7-Mar-2011
Hankyoreh
The latest discovery involves content arbitrarily added to the Korean-language version of the agreement text that is not present in the English-language version, triggering accusations of deliberate distorsion
3-Mar-2011
A ratification motion for the free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the European Union (EU) will be presented to a parliamentary committee on Thursday for approval, lawmakers said.
2-Mar-2011
Korean exports to the European Union are expected to register solid gains once a bilateral free trade agreement takes effect, a local trade organization said Wednesday.
28-Feb-2011
Hankyoreh
The Lee Myung-bak administration announced plans Friday to submit a new S Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement ratification motion to the National Assembly correcting a translation error present in the text submitted in October 2010. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not independently verify translations in the languages of 21 other EU nations.