According to a story in the English-language Korea Herald published yesterday, the newly arrived Turkish ambassador, Erdoğan İşcan, announced that the first stage of talks concerning a FTA between the two countries will begin this April. The announcement was made during a recent courtesy call by Ambassador İşcan to Herald Media publisher Park Haeng-hwan.
The ambassador stated that free trade talks between the two nations should advance “as fast as possible” and hoped to have a deal finalized by the time a FTA between Korea and the European Union commences. İşcan stated that if an agreement with Turkey is not reached by then, “bilateral trade and investment between the two countries will suffer.”
Trade between South Korea and Turkey hit $3.1 billion in 2009, though was a noticeable $1 billion less than 2008 due to the global financial crisis. The ambassador stated that Korea dominates the trade relationship and that a new FTA would.
