S. Korea actively mulling joining CPTPP, trade minister says

Trade experts say that joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership could offer Korea the opportunity to play a leading role in the future global trade order at a time when multilateral systems have been facing a crisis

South Korean Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo (provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

The South Korean government is “actively considering joining” the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and has been “making internal and external preparation efforts without setbacks,” Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo said during an expert roundtable on the partnership Thursday.

He also said a “decision on whether and when to join the agreement will be made from a standpoint of maximizing the national interest.”

“Even among the members of the agreement, South Korea is viewed as an ideal partner for its expansion and development as one of the leading trade forces in the Asia-Pacific region and as an industry and technology power,” Yeo said.

He added that the agreement would “hold great strategic value in terms of establishing South Korean leadership on Asia-Pacific regional trade and achieving more advanced supply chains.”

South Korea “plans to continue playing a leading role as an active participating in the Asia-Pacific regional trade order, for example through its preparations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to take effect and through its efforts to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement with Singapore, New Zealand and Chile,” he added.

Other attendees at the roundtable held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul day included Korean Association of Trade and Industry Studies chairperson Kang Moon-sung and Ahn Duk-geun, a professor of international trade law at Seoul National University.

The trade experts in attendance stressed the importance of observing changes in the Asia-Pacific regional trade environment, including China and Taiwan’s recent applications to join the CPTPP, and proposed a more active role for South Korea in terms of establishing leadership in the trade order, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported.

In particular, they agreed that CPTPP membership could furnish an opportunity to play a leading role in the future global trade order at a time when multilateral systems have been facing a crisis, the ministry added.

The ministry explained that it had been soliciting opinions from experts and stakeholders through various channels to use as a basis for reviewing the direction of South Korea’s response to changes in the trade order.

By Kim Young-bae, senior staff writer

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