Domestic Procedures Completed
Free trade agreements between South Korea and five Central American countries take effect one after another starting from Oct. 1 this year.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea announced on Aug. 13 that South Korea’s domestic procedures for the implementation of the FTAs were completed on Aug. 2 via the National Assembly and the ministry notified Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama of the completion on Aug. 6.
Nicaragua already completed its domestic procedure and the South Korea-Nicaragua FTA becomes effective on Oct. 1. The other FTAs will be implemented through the same procedural completion and notification.
The ministry and the five Central American countries’ ambassadors to South Korea had a meeting in Seoul on Aug. 13, discussing how to promote bilateral trade and investment by making good use of the FTAs.
South Korea has become the first Asian country that signed FTAs with the five countries. The ministry said that the FTAs will be a part of South Korea's FTA network in the Americas.