Practical Gains Secured in 'Economic Tour' Completion... Export Routes Found Through New Markets

Expanding Practical Economic Cooperation with Indonesia, Philippines, India, etc... Expecting Domestic Companies' Advancement
Building a Massive ASEAN FTA Network through Cooperation with the Philippines... Enhancing Export Competitiveness
20 Bilateral Talks, 'World Expo' Hosting Efforts... "Diplomacy to Pioneer New Markets Will Continue"

President Yoon Suk-yeol launched an all-out effort to pioneer new ASEAN markets based on his attendance at the East Asia Summit (ASEAN) and the G20-related summit meetings. He achieved tangible results by signing MOUs (Memorandums of Understanding) in various fields such as critical minerals, nuclear power, and mobility through summit meetings, bilateral talks, and meetings with local businesspeople. The Presidential Office is confident that the export downturn will come to an end as a result of President Yoon's proactive sales diplomacy.

According to the Presidential Office on the 11th, President Yoon held a meeting with his aides in the afternoon, received reports on major issues, and plans to request follow-up measures on the outcomes of the tour. A Presidential Office official explained, "Since we succeeded in achieving economic results beyond expectations during this tour, plans for follow-up actions by sector and agenda will be reviewed going forward," adding, "We also plan to share the tour outcomes with the public."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In what is regarded as a de facto 'economic tour,' President Yoon maximized economic cooperation with Indonesia, the Philippines, and India. In particular, with Indonesia, the chair country of the ASEAN Summit, the foundation was laid for cooperation on the '40 trillion won capital relocation project.' The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and related ministries expect cooperation in infrastructure sectors such as building carbon-neutral water treatment plants, water supply and sewage, and tunnel construction projects.

He also achieved the outcome of 'securing new supply chain markets.' Indonesia is the largest country in ASEAN in terms of economic scale, territory, and population, and holds the world's largest nickel reserves and production, playing a key role in the electric vehicle supply chain. President Yoon supported the signing of a total of 22 MOUs in fields including critical minerals, nuclear power, mobility, halal food, and hospital operations through the summit meeting with Indonesia and a business roundtable. Since President Yoon discussed with local businesspeople institutional foundations to protect Korean companies' core technologies and secure market dominance, import volume restrictions, and certification systems, it is expected that the difficulties faced by companies will soon be resolved.

One of the biggest achievements of this tour was the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Philippines. The Korea-Philippines FTA is the fifth bilateral FTA with ASEAN member countries following Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, completing a vast FTA network covering 91% of the ASEAN market, according to the Presidential Office. Most importantly, Korean cars, which previously had a 5% tariff, will have tariffs eliminated immediately upon the FTA's enforcement, and auto parts, which had tariffs up to 30%, will see tariffs removed within five years. Eco-friendly vehicles such as electric and hybrid cars will receive the same benefits for five years. This is expected to significantly improve the export competitiveness of Korean cars in the Philippine automobile market, which has been dominated by Japan. Considering the Philippines has a population of 110 million and a large domestic market where consumption accounts for 70% of GDP, the practical economic benefits are expected to be even greater.

During the G20 period, efforts were made to lay the groundwork for Korean companies to penetrate the Indian export market. With China's economy stagnating due to factors such as the US-China hegemony war, India is emerging as the 'post-China,' and the Korean government is pursuing a strategy to establish a strengthened cooperation system. India, with a population of 1.4 billion this year, has surpassed China as the world's most populous country. According to the IMF and others, India is expected to grow at an average rate of 6.1% until 2028 and is projected to become the world's third-largest economy by 2030, following the US and China. Furthermore, due to its high education level and lower labor costs compared to China and Vietnam, many major companies are relocating production to India, turning it into the 'factory of the world.'

President Yoon signed a basic agreement on the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) with a limit of 4 billion dollars (2023?2026) with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their summit meeting. The EDCF basic agreement is a loan-related accord that specifies the support limits and conditions for recipient countries over a certain period (3?5 years), laying the foundation for expanding Korean companies' participation in high value-added infrastructure projects in India.

President Yoon also expressed the need for meaningful progress in the ongoing 'Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement' (CEPA) improvement negotiations, which have been underway for eight years since 2015. India is promoting the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (Self-Reliant India) policy, strengthening non-tariff import barriers, which continues to cause inconvenience for Korean companies. To alleviate one of the biggest difficulties for export companies?the burden of certificate of origin?President Yoon and Prime Minister Modi agreed to launch an 'electronic exchange system for certificates of origin' by the end of the year and to mutually dispatch trade delegations.

Future win-win cooperation such as building a cooperative relationship between the Korea Aerospace Agency, led by Korea, and India's space agency, as well as ICT cooperation, also stood out. India, which established its space agency in 1972, recently attracted attention as a leading country in the space industry by landing the Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar south pole for the first time in the world and launching a solar observation satellite. Through this summit, the two leaders agreed to actively promote joint research and researcher exchanges focusing on space exploration, satellite navigation systems, and the use of satellite information through the Korea-India Research Innovation Center established in India.

Continuing a series of summit meetings with various countries until the last day of the tour was also a measure to strengthen economic cooperation between nations. During this tour, President Yoon held 20 bilateral meetings and contacted more than 30 top-level officials in various forms, requesting support for hosting the 'Expo 2030' in Busan. A Presidential Office official said, "With the normalization of Korea-Japan relations and the Korea-US-Japan summit, the Korean government's diplomatic stage has established itself globally beyond the Indo-Pacific, so the diplomatic efforts to pioneer new markets for export routes will continue in the future."

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