President Park Geun-hye said Thursday that South Korea remains a firm supporter of free trade, expressing concerns over growing protectionism amid the sluggish global economy.
South Korea has emerged as Asia’s fourth-largest economy from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War through trade. Currently, exports account for about half of South Korea’s gross domestic product.
“As a firm supporter of free trade, South Korea will be a backer of the trade remedy system,” Park said in a video message to an international forum on trade remedies here, saying that Seoul’s prosperity is an example of what free trade can accomplish.
Park asked the participants to reconcile the expansion of free trade with fair trade order, noting that sluggish international trade could prompt calls for protectionism.
The participants include Johann Human, director of the rules division of the World Trade Organization, Paul Piquado, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce and Wolfgang Mueller, acting director of trade defense directorate of the European Commission. (Yonhap)
