Anchor: South Korea and New Zealand officially signed their bilateral trade pact following a summit in Seoul on Monday. At the talks, President Park Geun-hye and New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key also agreed to boost human exchanges.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.

Report: President Park Geun-hye and New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key held a summit at the presidential office in Seoul on Monday.

Following their decision to boost economic and trade cooperation as well as human exchanges, the two sides’ trade ministers officially signed the South Korea-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA).

With the free trade terms officially fixed after their accord to launch the deal in November, Park and Key expressed high expectations for the two sides’ economic relations.

[Sound bite: President Park Geun-hye (Korean)]
“I believe that with the official signing of the FTA, bilateral relations have laid a vital foundation to further cooperate in various fields, including the economic area.”

[Sound bite: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key (English)]
“I’m sure that the benefits to Koreans and New Zealanders will be significant over the years ahead and so this is a very special and beautiful day to be in Seoul.”

Once the FTA goes into effect following parliamentary ratification, New Zealand will abolish tariffs on all imports from South Korea in seven years. South Korea, on its part, will remove tariffs on 96-point-four percent of its imports from New Zealand in 15 years.

In particular, tariffs on South Korean washing machines, refrigerators and construction heavy equipment, which are key export items, will be abolished in three years.

Some 190 agricultural and livestock products, including rice, were excluded from items that will see a reduction in tariffs. However, tariffs on New Zealand’s kiwis will be removed in six years and on beef in 15 years.

Also on Monday, Park and Key agreed to increase the beneficiaries of the working holiday visa program from 18-hundred to three-thousand a year. They also agreed to introduce a program in which South Korean youths from farming and fishing villages will travel to New Zealand to study English.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.