South Korea may seek bilateral FTA with UK after Brexit: trade minister

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea may seek a separate free trade deal with Britain in coming years in an effort to minimize the impact of Brexit on the country’s trade with the European Union and Britain, the trade ministry said on Sunday.
It added the more lucrative Korea-EU trade agreement, worth six times the value in exports, will be maintained for the next two years as it will take at least that long for Britain to exit the EU.
“We plan to consult with the EU to reflect appropriate changes on the free trade agreement we have with the bloc after reviewing the possible impact of Brexit,” the ministry’s statement noted.
Following Britain’s decision to leave the 28-country bloc last week, the trade ministry said it expects Brexit would have a limited impact on the country’s real economy.
As of 2015, South Korean exports to Britain amounted to about $7.4 billion, accounting for 1.4 percent of the Asia’s fourth largest economy’s total exports, according to the trade ministry data.
Korean exports to the EU amounted to $48.1 billion, accounting for 9.1 percent of the total exports.

Markets adjust.

Source: South Korea may seek bilateral FTA with UK after Brexit: trade ministr