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Korea

The government of South Korea has concluded, or is pursuing negotiations for, a number of bilateral free trade and investment agreements. Korean social movements have been mobilizing in opposition to these ever since the Korea-Chile FTA was proposed. So far, South Korea has signed deals with Chile (2004), EFTA (2004), Singapore (2005), ASEAN (2007) the US (2007, ratified in 2011), Peru (2011) and Turkey (2012). Talks are under way with Canada, China, Mexico, India, the EU and, technically speaking, Japan. Negotiations with Colombia have stalled over Colombia’s demands for access for better terms for its fruit and flower exports than what Korea gives Chile and Peru. Seoul is also looking to open discussions with Mercosur, Malaysia, Mexico and possibly Israel.

last update: May 2012
Photo: Joe Mabel / CC BY-SA 3.0


Seoul, New Delhi to resume trade talks in April
South Korea is holding back on farm products
Courting investors, South Korea seeks to move out of Japan’s shadow
South Korea’s electronics industry is seeking to reduce its dependence on rival and chief supplier Japan while diversifying beyond its chip-manufacturing base to develop fresh intellectual property and new product categories.
S. Korea, Mexico at odds over agricultural safeguards in FTA talks
South Korea and Mexico were at odds over safeguards for farm goods at their first free trade agreement talks, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Monday.
S Korea seeking free trade with South America’s Mercosur: commerce minister
South Korea is seeking a free trade pact with Mercosur to pave the way for Korean firms to increase investment and exports to Brazil and the other member states, South Korea’s commerce minister said Saturday.
Korea-GCC FTA preliminary talks to be held
Korea-GCC FTA preliminary talks will be held on November 21 at Riyadh with a view to initiating FTA negotiations in 2008.
Korea, Kyrgyzstan sign investment pact
Korea and Kyrgyzstan signed a bilateral investment treaty and economic cooperation pact
S. Korean, Japanese business groups to push for resumption of free trade talks
South Korean and Japanese business lobby groups agreed to forge close cooperation to persuade the governments of their countries to resume free trade talks that are suspended over agriculture issues, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said Tuesday.
Mercosur FTA to boost Korea’s GDP by 2% - study
A free trade agreement with the South American trade bloc Mercosur could increase Korea’s gross domestic product by up to two percent, a study by the two sides has found. The Foreign Ministry said the joint FTA study was adopted at a Korea-Mercosur policy meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay late last month.
Protecting Korean farmers key goal of FTA talks with China
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Seoul stressed the need to reflect the concerns of local farmers in any future free trade agreement (FTA) with China at preliminary discussions held in Weihai last week.
SKorea, China to start initial free trade talks
South Korea and China will hold a third round of preliminary talks this week on a possible free trade agreement, the foreign ministry said Monday.