Korea and Chile reopen free trade commission after 10-year gap

South Korea's industry ministry said Monday that Korea and Chile held their 11th Free Trade Commission in Seoul, the first such meeting in a decade, as the two countries follow up on a presidential summit agreement to review their trade pact and expand cooperation in strategic sectors.

Park Geun-oh, the ministry's director-general for trade agreement policy, led the Korean delegation, while Felipe Lopeandía Wielandt, director-general for bilateral economic affairs at Chile's foreign ministry, headed the Chilean side.

The meeting followed a July 30 summit between the two countries' leaders, where they agreed to restart the commission after 10 years and to seek investment opportunities for their companies in strategic areas including critical minerals and energy. A memorandum of understanding on a mineral resources partnership between the industry ministry and Chile's mining ministry was signed at the same summit. Chile is the world's largest copper producer and holds lithium reserves, making it a partner in critical mineral supply chains.

The commission reviewed the status of implementing the agreement, including a push to revise product-specific rules of origin to the HS2022 tariff classification system from HS2012, and an exchange of statistics on how companies use the pact. The two sides also discussed ways to advance negotiations on improving the free trade agreement, including cooperation in minerals.