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Trade News
ISRAEL AND KOREA
HOPES TO INCREASE
BILATERAL TRADE
THROUGH FTA
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In an event to celebrate the 55th
anniversary of diplomatic relations
between Israel and South Korea, Israeli
Ambassador to South Korea Chaim
Choshen emphasized that strengthening
collaboration in the fields of military,
defense and highly advanced technology
would be beneficial for both countries.
The event in Seoul was also designed
to mark the 69th Independence Day of
Israel, which falls on May 2 this year
under the Hebrew calender. Ambassador
Choshen expressed hopes that South
Korea and Israel could further increase
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their trade through a free trade agreement
(FTA) currently under negotiations.
"Today the trade volume between our
two countries is 1.7 billion dollars. I hope
that we will complete soon the FTA
negotiations between us and reach a good
agreement which will not only enable us
to increase trade volume but will also
encourage more investment and cooperation
in innovation," he noted.
He also cited student exchange,
research and development and tourism as
other fields for the potential for greater
bilateral collaboration.
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18TH ROUND OF RCEP
NEGOTIATIONS HELD
IN MANILA
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A Korean delegation led by Director-
General for FTA Negotiations Yoo
Myung-hee of the Ministry of Trade,
Industry and Energy (MOTIE) attended
the 18th round of negotiations for the
Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) from May 8 to 12 in
Manila, Philippines.
In this round of negotiations, participating
countries exchanged offers on goods
and services in accordance with the
results of the 17th round of negotiations
held in Kobe, Japan in March. In addition,
the delegations spurred efforts to accelerate
negotiations for agreements on 12 different
areas of the RCEP including intellectual
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property rights, sanitary and phytosanitary
measures (SPS) and rules of
origin.
Officials agreed that the trade pact
gives meaningful opportunities for Korea
as well diversify the country’s trade and
investment markets to include large,
promising economies with massive
growth potential such as ASEAN and
India. By unifying trade norms and easing
non-tariff barriers in the region, officials
expect the partnership to help Korea
increase its export volume.
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Government & Policy
NEW BUDGET GUIDE
LINES FOCUS ON JOB
CREATION,INCOME
HIKE
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Following the inauguration of
President Moon Jae-in on May 10, the
Ministry of Strategy and Finance revised
the budget guidelines for next year to
reflect the main policies of the president,
who has put his policy priority on reviving
the economy through job creation
and increased income. The 2018 budget
is expected to amount to KRW 420 trillion
(USD 376 billion), up from KRW
400 trillion earmarked for 2017.
The earlier 2018 budget scheme, which
was made in March, was about the fourth
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industrial revolution, as well as improving
job creation, tackling the low
birthrate and economic polarization.
Under the updated guidelines, the government
will give preference to government-
led projects that create more jobs
and reduce temporary workers, and
expand government spending on financial
support programs for needy families.
Also, government expenditure on tackling
low birth rate and improving air pollution
will be high on the agenda.
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S.KOREA STEPS UP
PREPARATIONS FOR
AUTONOMOUS CARS
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South Korea will come up with recall
and examination standards for autonomous
vehicles by 2020 so as to allow everyday
operations of driverless cars.
At a global conference on autonomous
vehicles held in Seoul on May 16, Kim
Chae-gyu, director general of the Bureau
of Motor Vehicles Policy at the transport
ministry, said the government plans to
also formulate an insurance policy that
can cover self-driving vehicles by that
year.
For autonomous vehicles to become
viable, there should be an ultra-precise
electronic map system in place, along
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with a cooperative-intelligent transport
systems (C-ITS) and a host of other related
standards to cope with accidents, he
said.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
and Transportation has allowed 19
autonomous vehicles to run the streets in
pilot projects after being created by companies
and universities. They include the
country's biggest auto parts maker
Hyundai Mobis Co., mobile phone and
computer chip giant Samsung Electronics
Co., the country's biggest portal service
provider Naver and the Seoul National
University.