South Korea and the U.K. launched the second round of negotiations to improve their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in London from March 19 to 22. The talks, involving about 50 representatives from both sides, aim to strengthen cooperation in services, digital, SMEs and good regulatory practices while discussing the introduction of new trade norms. The upgraded FTA is expected to boost South Korean exports and investments, promote collaboration in areas like gender and clean energy and enhance supply chain stability.

Concurrently, South Korea’s deputy trade minister Yang Byeong-nae and Lithuania’s vice foreign minister Egidijus Meilunas met in Seoul on March 19 to explore expanding bilateral trade, investment and economic cooperation. They agreed to focus on advanced industries, particularly R&D collaboration in the laser and biohealth sectors, and signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on industrial technology cooperation between their respective agencies.