April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Additional market openings following a possible amendment to the free trade agreement with the United States is not likely to have a visible impact on the Korean economy, a study showed on Nov. 10.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy unveiled an economic feasibility study on the renegotiation of the five-year-old deal, known as the KORUS FTA, which was conducted by three state research institutes during a public hearing held in Seoul.

A low-level FTA would increase 0.0004 percent of the real gross domestic product in Korea and contribute to US$12 million in terms of consumer benefits, while a high-level FTA would add 0.0007 percent to the real economy and improve the welfare of local consumers by US$24 million, the joint study said. 

The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, Korea Institute for Industrial Economic & Trade and Korea Rural Economic Institute jointly conducted the feasibility study.

The study said the FTA has expanded trade and improved market access between the two nations over the past five years.

The findings said Korea’s import from the US edged down 0.8 percent from 2012, while shipments to the US rose 5.3 percent.

The US share of the Korean market has risen from 8.3 percent in 2012 to 11.1 percent in the first half of this year, while the corresponding figure for Korea went up from 2.6 percent to 3.1 percent, it noted.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)