1.      Korea and ASEAN held the 5th ROK-ASEAN Experts Group Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 
27th-28th.  The purpose of the meeting was to examine the feasibility of an FTA with ASEAN, which is 
composed of 10 member countries including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.  At this meeting, 
the two sides agreed on the final report that will be presented at the ROK-ASEAN summit meeting in 
November.

2.      Mr. Kim Han-soo, Deputy Director-General for FTA Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
(MOFAT) headed the Korean delegation, consisting of approximately 12 people including officials from 
relevant government agencies such as the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Forestry, and Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, etc., and civilian experts.  The ASEAN delegation 
consisted of approximately 25 people including representatives from the 10 member states and ASEAN 
Secretariat staff.

 
3.      The Experts Group Meeting is based on the common belief that economic liberalization between Korea 
and ASEAN will bring economic benefits to both sides, and the two sides have reached the conclusion that 
elimination of tariffs (excluding sensitive products) and liberalization of services and investment are needed.  
The Experts Group Meeting has decided to submit a report that recommends the promotion of an ROK-
ASEAN FTA.

 
4.      This report will be submitted at the ROK-ASEAN summit meeting in November after being reviewed at 
the ROK-ASEAN economic ministers' meeting in September, and the two heads will decide whether or not to 
initiate official FTA negotiations based on this report. 

 
5.      The Korean government held a public hearing on August 4 and a civilian advisory group meeting on 
August 26 in order to gather the opinions of interested groups on promoting an ROK-ASEAN FTA, and will 
confirm its position after holding a meeting between the FTA promotion committee and the economic 
minister. 

                                                                    Spokesperson for MOFAT

* unofficial translation