Seoul: South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to commence official talks for upgrading their free trade agreement (FTA), as part of the ongoing effort to expand bilateral ties in emerging areas, such as digital economy and critical minerals, Seoul's trade ministry said Monday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the first round of official negotiations is scheduled to take place throughout this week in Seoul, with Park Geun-oh, director general for trade agreement policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, leading the Korean delegation, and the ASEAN side being represented by Alpana Roy, ASEAN's director general for international trade.

This week's talks will focus on expanding ties in 13 separate areas, including digital economy, critical minerals, and supply chains, as stated by the ministry. South Korea and ASEAN initially signed an FTA on goods in 2006, followed by agreements on services in 2007 and investment in 2009. Currently, ASEAN holds the position as the third-largest trading partner for Korea, with Seoul having exported approximately US$122.5 billion worth of goods to the 11 member states in 2025.

The move to upgrade the FTA follows discussions held during the annual Korea-ASEAN summit last year, where both parties agreed to expand their annual trade volume to $300 billion by 2029.