South Korea Joins Digital Economy Partnership Agreement... "Will Lead Global Digital Norm Discussions"

Government to Proceed with Remaining Procedures for Year-End Announcement
Expecting Export Expansion Based on E-Commerce, Digital Content, and Service Overseas Advancement

South Korea has become the first country to join the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).

On the 8th (local time in Paris), the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it had declared the substantive conclusion of South Korea's DEPA accession negotiations together with trade ministers and vice ministers from the three DEPA countries (Singapore, New Zealand, and Chile) on the occasion of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting.

DEPA is the world's first plurilateral digital trade agreement established among Singapore, Chile, and New Zealand, members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to establish digital trade norms and strengthen cooperation. It came into effect in January 2021. Since initiating the accession process in October 2021, South Korea has completed six rounds of negotiations and reviewed the necessary domestic laws and systems for accession.

DEPA is an open agreement, and accession procedures have begun for China and Canada following South Korea. Countries in Latin America and the Middle East, including Costa Rica and Peru, have also expressed interest, and the government expects significant potential for DEPA to develop into a global digital cooperation framework.

DEPA stipulates norms and cooperation for harmonizing systems among member countries to promote the spread of electronic trade and create a stable data business environment.

Ahn Deok-geun, Director-General for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, "Based on DEPA, key countries in the ASEAN region (Singapore), Oceania (New Zealand), and Latin America (Chile) will serve as hubs to expand opportunities for our companies to export based on e-commerce and advance digital content and services overseas. As membership expands in the future, the scope of benefits is expected to continue broadening. Through proactive accession to DEPA, we will lead discussions on global digital norms."

The government plans to proceed with domestic procedures and remaining accession steps aiming for DEPA to come into effect within this year.

Anduk Geun, Director-General for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (second from the left), declared the substantive conclusion of Korea's accession negotiations as the first member country of the digital trade agreement DEPA, together with trade ministers and vice ministers from three countries (Singapore, Chile, New Zealand) on the occasion of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting at the OECD headquarters in Paris, France, on the 8th (local time), and took a commemorative photo.