Yeo Han-koo vows 'offensive' trade policy to sustain export momentum

Yeo Han-koo, chief trade negotiator at South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said Monday the government would pursue an "offensive trade policy" to sustain export growth by diversifying trade networks and actively resolving difficulties faced by businesses.

Yeo made the remarks at the ministry's first Trade Policy Advisory Committee meeting of the year, held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. "Even as the global trade environment is changing rapidly and uncertainty is growing, we have achieved record results — surpassing $700 billion in exports last year and reaching the highest cumulative export figure on record through May this year," he said.

The ministry convened the advisory committee — a pool of trade experts drawn from academia, industry and research institutions — to gather recommendations on key trade issues. Participants proposed a range of measures to improve market access for Korean companies, including pursuing membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.

The CPTPP launched in December 2018 under Japanese leadership after the United States withdrew from its predecessor, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Washington had originally championed. The agreement now includes 12 member countries — among them Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom and Vietnam — whose combined gross domestic product accounts for roughly 15 percent of the global total.

The newly launched seventh session of the Trade Policy Advisory Committee expanded to 30 members, adding experts in emerging industries such as AI, digital industries and consumer goods. They include Park Su-kyung, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST.

The government plans to continue operating the advisory committee and other public-private communication channels to incorporate expert perspectives into policy, and to focus its efforts on stabilizing global supply chains and expanding export markets.