President Lee Jae-myung, visiting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, held a summit meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the 27th and concluded the Korea-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea-Malaysia FTA will liberalize 94.8% of all items for Korea and 92.7% for Malaysia. Malaysia will reduce or abolish tariffs on 682 items, and Korea on 288 items. Through this, Korea's main export items such as automobiles, steel, and chemicals will gain additional market access, while additional liberalization on agricultural and marine product imports will not occur.

Additionally, the two leaders agreed to expand defense industry cooperation, including supporting Korean companies' participation in Malaysia's second procurement of FA-50 light attack aircraft, and to strengthen cooperation in infrastructure, construction, and energy transition sectors, according to Presidential Office Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung. Prime Minister Anwar positively evaluated the defense cooperation memorandum of understanding (MOU), stating, "Korea is a reliable and important partner in strengthening Malaysia's defense capabilities."

In a contribution to Malaysian media 'The Star,' President Lee proposed initiating negotiations to improve the FTA between Korea and ASEAN countries, stating, "Let's aim to achieve an annual trade volume of USD 300 billion (approximately KRW 430 trillion)." The Korea-ASEAN FTA was concluded in 2005 and came into effect in 2007.

President Lee attended the Korea-ASEAN Summit in the morning, explaining the government's vision for peace on the Korean Peninsula and requesting cooperation from ASEAN member countries. However, he did not mention the 'END (E.N.D.) initiative' announced during the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month. There was speculation that this might be considering the possibility of a North Korea-U.S. summit during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Gyeongju.

At the ASEAN+3 (Korea, China, Japan) Summit, President Lee emphasized, "We are facing new geopolitical crises such as protectionism and the reorganization of global supply chains," and stressed the need to accelerate ASEAN+3 cooperation.

In a summit meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, President Lee agreed to operate a Korea Task Force dedicated to addressing scam crimes involving Koreans starting next month. President Lee instructed to review lowering the travel advisory for certain areas, including Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where the travel advisory had previously been raised. Prime Minister Manet expressed condolences, saying, "Recently, there was an unfortunate incident where a Korean university student died in Cambodia. We offer our deepest sympathies for this unfortunate situation."

Popular News