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Korea-ASEAN Economic and Trade Relations
- Date
- 2007-06-12
- Hit
- 2730
a. Korea-ASEAN Trade and Investment
ㅇ As of 2005, ASEAN is the fifth largest trading partner of Korea.
- The bilateral trade between Korea and ASEAN, which had temporarily contracted with the onset of the
1997 financial crisis, has continuously risen since 1999 in parallel with the economic recovery of the
region.
- The trade volume between Korea and ASEAN marked its peak in 2005, reaching US$53.5 billion -
a remarkable 15% increase compared to the previous year. Korea's trade surplus amounted to
US$1.4 billion.
<Korea-ASEAN Trade>
(unit: US$ 100million)
|
|
‘00 |
‘01 |
‘02 |
‘03 |
‘04 |
‘05 |
|
Korean Exports |
20,134 |
16,459 |
18,400 |
20,253 |
24,024 |
27,432 |
|
Korean Imports |
18,173 |
15,916 |
16,757 |
18,459 |
22,383 |
26,064 |
|
Total Volume |
38,307 |
32,375 |
35,157 |
38,712 |
46,407 |
53,496 |
|
Balance of Value |
1,960 |
543 |
1,644 |
1,795 |
1,641 |
1,368 |
※ Source: Korea Trade Information Services (KOTIS)
ㅇ Korea's cumulative overseas investment to ASEAN amounted to US$12.6 billion, ranking third after China and the United States.
<Korea-ASEAN Investment >
(Unit : US$ million, %)
|
|
‘00 |
‘01 |
‘02 |
‘03 |
‘04 |
‘05 |
Cum.(‘62~’05) |
|
from ASEAN to Korea |
1,720 |
992 |
359 |
685(90.8) |
621 |
641 |
10,556 |
|
from Korea to ASEAN |
695 |
508 |
650(27.9) |
1,278(96.6) |
70 |
920 |
12,550 |
※ ( ) Increase compared to the same period of the previous year
※ source: Korea Trade Information Services (KOTIS)
b. Korea-ASEAN Trade Relations
ㅇ Korea has maintained close economic relations with ASEAN by holding bilateral consultations on
outstanding trade and investment issues through various channels such as the ASEAN Summit Meeting,
ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting and ASEAN Senior Economic Officials‘ Meeting, as well as
actively pursuing economic cooperation projects.
- In light of ASEAN's enormous growth potential (i.e. large-scale market, abundant natural resources,
high quality labor force and intra regional trade liberalization), the complementary economic structures
of Korea and ASEAN and ASEAN's relatively favorable outlook on Korea, it is anticipated that Korea-
ASEAN's cooperative relationship, particularly in the area of trade, will continue to expand and develop.
ㅇ During the Korea-ASEAN Summit held in Laos in November 2004, the leaders of Korea and ASEAN
reached a historic agreement to create a Korea-ASEAN Free Trade Zone by 2009. To this end, both
sides agreed to initiate consultations in early 2005 and finalize negotiations within a two year time frame.
- The Korean-ASEAN FTA Framework Agreement was signed in December 2005 and the Agreement on
trade in goods was signed in August 2006. As of October 2006, negotiations on services and investment
are being conducted.
ㅇ ASEAN made a positive assessment of the balanced expansion of trade with Korea as well as the
economic cooperation projects sponsored by Korea. However, ASEAN has also been claiming that
Korea has been reluctant to import its agricultural products, in particular, tropical fruits.
- In this regard, the Korean government has endeavored to find amicable solutions to ASEAN's concerns
through means such as explaining Korea's position during official meetings to prevent any deterioration
of the close trade relationship that the two sides enjoy.