Yoo Myung-hee Attends RCEP Virtual Ministerial Meeting... First Since COVID-19

"RCEP to be Signed Within the Year... Overcoming the COVID-19 Crisis and Expanding Free Trade"
"Proposal for Korea to Host RCEP Face-to-Face Meeting After COVID-19 Subsides"
Hope to Expand International Cooperation Efforts Within RCEP, as Declared for Essential Personnel Movement with Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

Yoo Myung-hee, Chief Negotiator of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Yoo Myung-hee, the Chief Negotiator of Trade at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will attend the 10th RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) Ministerial Meeting via video conference on the 23rd. This is the first ministerial meeting held since the outbreak of COVID-19.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 15 ministers including Chief Negotiator Yoo from Korea will participate. This is the first meeting since the RCEP summit in November last year.

The ministers from each country will review the progress of negotiations, reaffirm their commitment to signing within this year, and discuss future schedules.

The Ministry considers it highly significant to hold the RCEP ministerial meeting, the world's largest free trade agreement (FTA), to express the intention to sign within the year and promote free trade expansion.

This is especially true given the current global economic downturn concerns due to COVID-19 and the threats to multilateral and free trade systems.

Chief Negotiator Yoo stated, "It is expected that a new trade order will spread due to the restructuring of the global value chain (GVC), the expansion of protectionism, and the acceleration of the digital economy caused by COVID-19."

He added, "Upon signing and enforcement of RCEP, it will be possible to effectively respond to GVC restructuring based on geographical proximity and unified norms, and it is expected to provide a useful cooperation framework for the rapidly growing regional digital economy."

RCEP is an "economic bloc" accounting for one-third of the world's GDP. Chief Negotiator Yoo judged that signing RCEP can enhance the value of multilateral and free trade systems in response to the spread of protectionism. He believed it could revitalize the global economy by improving trade and investment conditions.

Yoo emphasized, "In the future, RCEP should serve as an effective cooperation platform not only for promoting trade and investment but also for responding to global crises such as international cooperation on COVID-19," and added, "We hope that international cooperation efforts, such as the recent ministerial declaration by Korea and RCEP member countries including Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand on essential personnel movement and trade facilitation, will also spread at the RCEP level."

Korea, as the AFP coordinator (ASEAN FTA Partners facilitator), has made efforts to advance negotiations by preparing mediation proposals on various issues. It coordinated opinions among non-ASEAN RCEP member countries including Korea, Australia, New Zealand, China, and Japan.

Chief Negotiator Yoo declared, "When the COVID-19 situation eases and the RCEP ministerial meeting is held face-to-face, Korea will host it," adding, "Through this, we plan to actively contribute to the signing of RCEP within the year and create an opportunity to expand exchanges and cooperation on excellent quarantine systems such as K-quarantine."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.