The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) said it held a meeting presided over by Minister Hong Nam-ki on April 15 and jointly approved a plan to promote the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) membership in writing. The government said it has prepared a plan based on the results of collecting opinions from all walks of life and analyzing economic effects on the CPTPP membership applications and will faithfully implement related procedures such as reporting to the National Assembly before applying for membership. In the process of negotiations, the government will reflect the sensitivity of fields such as agricultural and livestock products and small and medium-sized manufacturing industries as much as possible, prepare domestic supplementary measures according to the results of the negotiations, and actively respond to the health and safety of the people.
The CPTPP is a multilateral free trade agreement (FTA) formed by 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. After the U.S. withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was led by the U.S., Japan, Australia, and Mexico launched the treaty in December 2018. Since then, U.K., China, and Taiwan have also applied for membership. 
Under the Act on the Conclusion Procedure and Implementation of Commercial Treaties, the government must formulate a plan for signing a trade treaty before starting trade negotiations. Accordingly, the government will officially apply for the CPTPP membership within the current administration’s term after reporting its plan to the National Assembly. It is expected to take more than one to two years for the actual subscription to take place. Eleven existing countries decide whether to start accession negotiations, and it takes a considerable amount of time even after the negotiations begin.
“Joining the CPTPP has been considered for more than eight years since the TPP era,” said Yeo Han-koo, a minister for trade. “It is meaningful to take a step forward in responding to the rapidly changing global situation and establishing a stable supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region.” Experts expect that joining the CPTPP will have positive effects such as expanding trade and increasing production, investment, and employment due to market opening. As of 2019, the gross domestic product (GDP) of 11 countries participating in the CPTPP was 11.2 trillion USD, which is 12.8% of the world’s trade volume is 5.7 trillion USD, accounting for 15.2% of global trade. Eleven CPTPP countries account for 23.2% of Korea’s exports. According to data released by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) at a public hearing on March 25, the real GDP growth effect of the CPTPP joining was estimated to be 0.33-0.35%. “If South Korea joins the CPTPP, it will have the effect of signing a new FTA with Mexico,” KIEP said. “We expect additional market opening effects for existing FTA-signing countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia.”
However, some analysts say that the domestic agricultural and fishery industries will suffer as imports of agricultural and fisheries products from Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, and Japan increase. Joining the CPTPP may cause enormous damage to our agricultural community. This is because advanced agricultural countries lead the CPTPP, and the degree of openness is much higher than other FTAs. The agricultural community is strongly protesting that it should not join the agricultural sector without calculating damage and preparing alternatives. It seems that social consensus should be reached before signing the contract.