Hyundai Steel Co. and other South Korean steelmakers export steel products worth US$350 million annually to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is comprised of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.
The group and South Korea launched free trade talks in 2008. Their latest meeting was the third round of free trade negotiations, which was held in July last year in Seoul.
South Korea currently has free trade pacts with Chile, Singapore and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprised of Switzerland, Norway, Ireland and Liechtenstein.
A free trade pact between Korea and the United States was signed in 2007 but still awaits ratification in the legislatures of both countries.
South Korea also has a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The country is set to sign a similar deal with the European Union.//Yonhap
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com