Seoul: South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) convened the inaugural meeting of a joint committee aimed at discussing improvements to their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), as announced by Seoul's trade ministry.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the trade delegations from both sides conducted the meeting virtually. This meeting comes approximately six months after South Korea and ASEAN agreed to initiate discussions to enhance the existing FTA. The primary objective is to expand cooperation on emerging issues, which include the digital economy, supply chains, and critical minerals, as stated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.

The FTA between South Korea and ASEAN was signed on goods in 2006, followed by agreements concerning services in 2007 and investment in 2009. ASEAN currently stands as the third-largest trading partner for South Korea. Last year, South Korea exported around US$122.5 billion worth of goods to the ASEAN region.

The ministry emphasized its commitment to integrating new trade rules concerning the digital economy, supply chains, and critical minerals into the bilateral trade agreement. These enhancements aim to support future innovative industries, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles. This initiative comes amid the growing challenges in the global trade environment, which are attributed to the spread of trade protectionism and supply chain instability.