Korea Chair Monitor | Vol 2 Issue 19

The Korea Chair team takes a biweekly look back at events of interest in Washington, Seoul, and the region from October 30 - November 12, 2014.

TRADE AND ECONOMICS | ROK-China Conclude Bilateral Free Trade Agreement
On November 10, the ROK and China reached a conclusion of their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Beijing after 14 rounds of negotiations first launched in May 2012. The announcement was made during a summit between President Park Geun-hye of Korea and President Xi Jinping of China on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ meeting. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), the FTA is expected to boost the trade volume between the two countries to $300 billion by 2015 if implemented in early 2015. ROK deputy trade minister Woo Tae-hee said in a press briefing that he expects “the FTA will also help secure peace and stability in the Northeast Asian region.”