The WTO examines member country trade policies periodically, and reports the results in trade policy reviews. It released its 2008 Korean Trade Policy Review last week: Trade Policy Review: Republic of Korea.
The Korean International Economic Association evidently held a conference or seminar on Friday. Yoon Ja-young reported on the comments of three economics professors: 'US Is Not a Model for Korea',
The Korea Times, June 13).
Korea's new president has refused the resignation of Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon. Kim was appointed by the last administration and was led Korea's negotiating team in the KORUS FTA negotiations: Lee retains leading FTA negotiator (JoongAng Daily, March 8, 2008).
Has Korea been picking the right trade partners for FTA negotiations? Kim Do-hun, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade doesn't think so: FTA targets miss the mark: expert (Limb Jae-un, JoongAng Daily, Feb 20); ‘Hong Kong, China Ideal for Korea’s FTA Partners’ (Yoon Ja-young, Korea Times, Feb19).
In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times editorial board, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab explained that under the trade agreement, the Korean government was enacting domestic reforms in exchange for preferential access to the largest market in the world. The reciprocity, she argued, makes it politically easier for the government to implement necessary reforms (Free trade unbound, January 16):
Oh Jung-kyu, the Director-General for Trade & Investment Promotion in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, discussed Korea's approach to FTA's in early December: Open and competitive: getting into FTA mode (Korea.net, December 3, 2007). My summary:
The Koreans aren't just working on a trade agreement with the U.S. They are negotiating preferential access to their market with many other countries. Here's the summary report from the Asian Regional Integration Center: Korea, Republic of:
