Korea-UK FTA Improvement Talks to Discuss Services, Investment, and Digital Trade

Korea-UK FTA (PG) [Yonhap News Photo]

Negotiations to improve the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the United Kingdom will be held in London, UK, from the 8th to the 12th.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Trade Negotiation Headquarters, approximately 60 delegates from both countries will participate, with Kwon Hye-jin, FTA Negotiator, representing South Korea, and Adam Pen, Deputy Director of the Department for Business and Trade, representing the UK, as chief negotiators.

The two countries aim to modernize the 'Korea-UK FTA', which was signed at the level of the Korea-EU FTA after the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit).

Both sides have been discussing the easing of rules of origin to a level easily usable by businesses and introducing new trade norms such as supply chains and digital trade, having begun the first round of negotiations in January last year and held five rounds of talks to date.

During this session, the two countries plan to intensively discuss seven areas in the services and investment sectors and lay the groundwork for an early conclusion of the negotiations.

Kwon Hye-jin, FTA Negotiator, stated, "Korea and the UK are strategic partners who share core values such as a rules-based free trade order. We will do our best to expeditiously advance the negotiations to establish a future-oriented agreement."