EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis met with South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee on Thursday 29 April to mark the 10th anniversary of the EU-South Korea trade agreement.
The two representatives decided to extend the list of protected geographical indications under their trade agreement to 43 European and 41 South Korean products. They also agreed to work towards including even more in the future.
“I was very happy to meet the Minister of Trade, Yoo Myung-hee, for the first time. We have agreed to put a strong focus on implementation of the EU-South Korea trade agreement”, said Dombrovskis.
Dispute over labour law
The decision of the expert panel on the January trade agreement in favour of the EU was also discussed between the two representatives. The experts determined that South Korea needed to adjust its regulations and practices to comply with the principles of freedom of association for workers (see EUROPE 12643/11).
Yoo Myung-hee and Valdis Dombrovskis agreed to monitor the implementation of the recommendations made by the expert group. The EU also welcomed South Korea’s ratification of three core International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions (see EUROPE 12667/15). South Korea also confirmed that it is working on the signature of the last unsigned fundamental convention, which concerns the abolition of forced labour. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)