1. The 1st Korea-EFTA FTA Joint Study to examine the feasibility of a comprehensive FTA with EFTA, which
is composed of four member states including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein, will be held
August 11th-13th in Geneva.
2. Mr. Kim Han-soo, Deputy Director-General for FTA Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(MOFAT), will be heading the Korean delegation which will consist of approximately 16 people, including
officials from relevant government agencies and civilian experts. The EFTA delegation will be headed by Mr.
Christian Etter, Head of the EFTA Division at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and
consist of approximately 14 people, including the representatives of the four member states and EFTA
Secretariat staff.
3. This is the 1st Joint Study being held since the Ministers of EFTA member states and the Republic of
Korea agreed during a meeting, held in the fringes of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting last May, to
launch a joint study for a Korea-EFTA FTA. The two sides will be exchanging views on the present condition
of trade and investment between Korea and EFTA, the FTA policies of the two economies, and the scope of
liberalization when concluding an FTA.
4. The two sides will hold another joint study session in October, and present a final report, which will
serve as the basis for deciding on whether or not to commence official FTA negotiations.
Spokesperson of MOFAT
* unofficial translation