▲ Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo talks about the future trade partnership between South Korea and the United States in a meeting with correspondents at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. on March 14, 2022. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) KORUS FTA-10th anniversary

(LEAD) Seoul, Washington should boost trade partnership for next decade: official

(ATTN: UPDATES with details in paras 6, 9; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, March 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's trade chief said Monday it's time for Seoul and Washington to strengthen their economic partnership for the next 10 years based on their free trade agreement signed a decade ago.

In a seminar held in Washington, D.C. on March 14, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said the Korea-U.S. free trade pact (KORUS FTA) was a "game changer" that transformed their economic partnership into a "fair and strategic" one.

He compared the bilateral trade pact to a "booster shot," which is essential for their companies' trades and investments.

Since the KORUS FTA came into force in March 2012, trade volume of goods between the two nations has grown nearly 70 percent and bilateral investment more than doubled, according to government data.

The bilateral trade of goods stood at US$169.1 billion last year, up from $100.8 billion logged in 2011.

South Korea's investments in the U.S. jumped from around $7 billion in 2012 to $18.2 billion in 2020, and the U.S.' investment in Korea rose to $5.3 billion from $3.67 billion during the same period.

As for the partnership for the next decade, the minister expressed interest in the U.S.-proposed Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

In January, he said the IPEF may provide common goods by setting rules and standards, especially for newly emerging industries, such as digitalization, but insisted many countries would want increased market access in return for taking part in such an initiative.

"The (Seoul) government is in close talks with the U.S. over the IPEF issues," he said.

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