South Korea

[단독]한-영 FTA 개선협상도 조만간 체결...원산지 기준 개선 추진

Maekyung | Local Language | News | Nov. 7, 2025 | UndeterminedTrade Issues and Numbers

Korean and British trade delegations are in the final stages of negotiations to improve the Korea-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with an agreement expected to be concluded and announced within 2025. The talks focus on refining business-friendly rules of origin and establishing updated digital trade norms, with main negotiation sessions scheduled to last a week starting next week.

The Korea-UK FTA, originally signed in 2019 after the UK’s Brexit-related withdrawal from the EU, aims to modernize trade terms to reflect new norms such as gender equality, digital trade, and the bioeconomy. The UK is Korea’s sixth-largest European trading partner and the third-largest investor in Korea as of 2024. The current improvement talks, ongoing since January 2024, cover about 20 chapters but do not include new market opening measures.

Key improvements include easier-to-use origin rules that facilitate tariff-free exports and a two-year extension of a special origin provision recognizing products made with EU parts as Korean-made, now set to last through the end of 2025. Enhanced digital trade measures are also critical, reflecting the importance of digitally delivered services—which constituted 72% of UK exports to Korea in 2022—and the growing international competitiveness of Korean content (K-content) in the UK market. Both countries aim to finalize and implement the improvements starting next year.

취임 100일 한성숙 “이젠 회복 넘어 성장…벤처투자시장 40조 조성 본격 시동”

ET News | Local Language | News | Nov. 7, 2025 | UndeterminedEconomic Growth

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, led by Minister Han Seong-sook, is advancing a privately driven roadmap to create a 40 trillion won venture investment market. This plan includes enabling pension and retirement funds to invest in venture funds, expanding the Mother Fund's budget more than twofold from 1 trillion won, and extending its lifespan. A record 2.2 trillion won R&D budget will focus on revenue-generating research and development, with 1.1 trillion won allocated to TIPS-style R&D that supports startups with private pre-investment.

Minister Han announced a policy shift from recovery to growth, emphasizing four key areas: reigniting the venture boom, scaling up SMEs, supporting small business owners, and fostering a connected and convergent ecosystem. The government aims to nurture 6,000 startups, 1,000 young entrepreneurs, and 1,200 TIPS-selected companies annually, and deploy 12,000 smart factories while fostering 500 manufacturing AI specialist firms. Additionally, institutional reforms, tax incentives, and financial market revitalization efforts, including the KOSDAQ, are being planned.

In small business support, the Ministry will monitor approximately 3 million loan-holding small business owners to detect risks early and provide comprehensive assistance, including debt adjustments and reemployment. Han stressed that the Ministry will serve as the central hub for growth by linking policy and field needs, aiming to enable sustainable growth for SMEs and small businesses beyond mere recovery.

Han also highlighted the impact of AI infrastructure expansion, referencing NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s announcement to supply 260,000 GPUs to Korea, which will benefit startups and SMEs. Public and industrial data access will be expanded to support AI ecosystem participation, with legislation to follow. She emphasized cooperation among SMEs and large companies to foster a collaborative AI ecosystem.

Since taking office, Minister Han has completed 49 on-site visits to SMEs, startups, and small businesses in 100 days, gathering feedback that informed measures addressing U.S. tariffs, technology theft, small business recovery, AI-driven manufacturing innovation, and SME support system improvements.

Korea Herald | English | News | Nov. 7, 2025 | Geopolitical Conflict and Disputes

A joint fact sheet summarizing trade and security agreements between South Korea and the United States is expected to cite approximately $25 billion in U.S. arms sales to South Korea. The reported deal includes purchases of helicopters, fighter jets, airborne early warning and control aircraft, ballistic missile interceptors, and other defense equipment by 2030. However, the presidential office confirmed that terms have not yet been finalized, with final decisions dependent on government spending capacity and the security environment.

As part of a broader $350 billion investment package in U.S. projects, $200 billion will be allocated to commercially viable projects determined by an investment committee led by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. South Korea’s investment commitment will include an annual $20 billion ceiling to maintain foreign exchange market stability. The remaining $150 billion will support shipbuilding projects led by South Korean companies and include cash, loans, and guarantees.

In return, U.S. tariffs on South Korean-made cars will be reduced from 25 percent to 15 percent, aligning with the reciprocal tariff on other South Korean goods. Pharmaceuticals, lumber products, semiconductors, aircraft parts, and generic drugs will receive most-favored nation treatment or reduced tariffs.

Political disagreement exists regarding whether the agreement requires parliamentary ratification. The ruling party, led by Rep. Kim Byung-kee, is seeking a special bill to provide legal grounds for the $350 billion investment, asserting joint fact sheets and memorandums are not legally binding. In contrast, the main opposition People Power Party argues that given the significant financial impact, the agreement should be treated as a treaty requiring formal parliamentary ratification under the Constitution.