210th Ministerial Meeting on International Economic Affairs
Government Discusses Focuses of This Year’s Policies
Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki presided over the 210th Ministerial Meeting on International Economic Affairs held on January 20, 2020, and discussed the four framework policies on international cooperation the government will pursue this year.
The following is a summary of Deputy Prime Minister Hong’s keynote address:
2019 in review and 2020 outlook
Over 2019, the economy had to deal with rising uncertainties in the global economy, as well as issues such as Japan’s export curbs and Korea’s developing country status in the WTO. Global trade falling to a 10 year low due to trade conflicts and weakening global value chains, the government has worked for the country’s real economy and financial markets to be affected as little as possible. The economy has successfully gotten through 2019, Korea’s credit ratings stable.
The phase one trade agreement between the US and China has been signed and the global economy is projected to gradually recover in 2020. Concerns about the instability in the Middle East, which escalated at the beginning of the year, have eased. If we make good use of recovering global economies, the Korean economy will be able to gain momentum in 2020. The government will be alert to potential risks and work to help the economy rebound.
Major international meetings[1], including the Korea-Japan-China summit, are scheduled to be held in Korea this year. The government is to seek cooperation with countries in North Asia in addition to the cooperation with South Asian countries the administration has sought since last year.
2020 policies on international cooperation
Four framework policies for 2020
- Seek cooperation with North Asian countries, working on the second round of measures to expand cooperation with South Asian countries of which the initiative was launched last year
- Work on expanding markets, such as through bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, and work on improving regulations according to global standards, such as the WTO’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, and others regulating seafood and digital trade
- Help exports rebound: Provide 240.5 trillion won worth of export financing, draw up measures to increase overseas construction, and fully prepared for potential global uncertainties, such as the outcomes of the phase two US-China trade negotiations
- Let the world know the economy’s strength, such as the country’s digital economy based on advanced technologies and industrial innovation, at the major international meetings held this year, including the G20 summit and P4G summit
Cooperation with North Asian countries
The government is to support the administration’s New North, a pursuit of cooperation with North Asian countries. The government will do the following over 2020.
- Continue to work on cooperation with Russia in the nine areas of railroads, electricity, shipbuilding, port development, Artic shipping routes, agriculture and forestry, fishery and industrial complex
- Build a model to develop cooperation with Mongolia and other countries in Central Asia
- Work on bilateral and multilateral FTAs with North Asian countries
Cooperation with China
As the Korea-China summit and Korea-China Finance Ministers’ Meeting are scheduled to be held in March 2020, we will work on cooperation agendas.
Trade with China accounts for 23.6 percent of the country’s total trade, Chinese tourists taking 29.8 percent of the total[2]. The government will work on ways to expand the bilateral exchange to new areas both countries are interested in, such as new services, environmental protection and overseas investment.
WTO’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement
We will work to comply with the WTO’s SPS agreement as we will improve the country’s food inspection and certification system to meet the global standard. We will work with experts in the area to improve the current system, as well as increase inspection transparency.
Please refer to the attached pdf
