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SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) — Trade volume between South Korea and Britain grew 33 percent for about one year after the implementation of a bilateral free trade deal, the industry ministry said Friday.
Seoul and London clinched the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in August 2019, and the pact went into effect in January 2021 following Britain’s departure from the European Union.
During the first 11 months of last year, their trade volume came to US$10.6 billion, up 33 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The ministry released the data during a meeting with experts earlier in the day to check the implementation of the pact.
During the meeting, the experts said the agreement has helped maintain the continuity of the two nations’ economic and business activities while calling for the government’s role to better update the pact.
In accordance with the deal, the two sides are required to revise the FTA within two years of its implementation to update its terms.
“We plan to launch negotiations within this year for the revision and will work on due domestic steps, such as holding public hearings without a hitch,” a ministry official said.
Jin Seoung-ho (L), chairman of Korea Investment Corp. (KIC), and Mike Freer, under-secretary of Britain’s international trade department, pose after signing a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation in Seoul on Nov. 12, 2021, in this file photo provided by the KIC. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)
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(YONHAP NEWS)