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South Korea should intensify its efforts to integrate economies in the
Asia-Pacific region to better capitalize on what many see as the newly-emerging
center of the global market, the country's top economic policymaker said
Monday.
"We should keep our policy focus on the Asia-Pacific region,
which is emerging as the nucleus of the global economy, so we can spearhead
regional economic integration," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told a meeting
with other key policymakers.
He said the government has to sustain its
growth momentum by building "cooperative networks" with emerging countries and
expand free trade agreements (FTAs) to cash in on opportunities they can provide
South Korea's export-driven economy.
His remarks are in line with the
government's steady efforts to sign more free trade deals as part of efforts to
expand its so-called "economic territory."
South Korea has enforced
FTAs with countries including Chile, Singapore, Peru, the European Union and the
United States. In May, Seoul also announced the launch of free trade
negotiations with China, the country's largest trading partner.
Bahk,
meanwhile, assessed external global market conditions as "not favorable," citing
the protracted eurozone problems and economic uncertainty hanging over
industrialized countries such as the U.S.
He expressed concern that
the global economic slump is pushing many countries to resort to protectionism
as they try to shield their industries from external challenges, and competition
to secure crude oil and foods will also intensify.