Han-koo pointed to the automobile, electric vehicle and batteries sectors as particularly benefitting from the updated rules of origin, saying: “We made the rules of origin in many of these manufacturing sectors more business friendly.”
In the year to June 2025, South Korea exported £1.9 billion worth of cars to the U.K, its top goods export, while the U.K. shipped roughly £645 million worth of vehicles the other way.
“This is not just confined to the bilateral because of this FTA,” Han-koo said. “U.K. and Korean companies can join forces to expand their business to third countries in Europe or third countries in Asia.”
The City of London
A new investment chapter offers protection and promotion measures that could help facilitate the flow of capital between the two nations.
“It’s very complementary, because the U.K. is very service oriented to finance services, legal services, digital services and technology innovation,” Han-koo said. “Korea is a manufacturing power. The Koreans could be a gateway [for] the U.K. to Asia, and vice versa.”
Britain has also signed a new digital trade chapter, giving South Korea the same provisions it has with other Asia Pacific countries in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — which includes countries like Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and Australia. Korea is not yet a member but is currently pushing for entry.
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