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Key facts
Republic of Korea Overview
Relations with New Zealand
Land Area - 99,313 sq km
Population - 48,379,392 (July 2008 est.)
Capital City - Seoul
Religion - Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%
Currency - South Korean Won
Exchange Rate -
1NZ$ = 730 won as at Jan 2009
Political system
The Republic of Korea (ROK) has a presidential system of government. Both the President and the National Assembly (the Korean parliament) are directly elected. The President (elected for a single five-year term) appoints the State Council (cabinet). Cabinet ministers are not normally members of the National Assembly, although it is possible to appoint MPs as Ministers. The National Assembly has 299 members elected for a four-year term. Following a parliamentary amendment in February 2008, 245 seats are filled by direct election, with the remaining 54 distributed between parties in proportion to their share of the direct vote.
The constitution
ROK’s constitution became effective on 17 July 1948. The constitution protects basic human rights, but also various economic rights, such as the right to own property, the right (and duty) to work and the freedom of choice of occupation. The Constitution has been revised nine times.
National government
ROK has a democratic form of government based on the separation of powers and a system of checks and balances. The Government consists of three branches: the legislature, in the form of a unicameral National Assembly; the judiciary, consisting of district and appellate courts and the Constitutional Court; and the executive, headed by the President who is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
Last election
The last Presidential election took place in December 2007. Lee Myung-bak (of the Grand National Party (GNP)) won 48.7% of the vote, followed by Chung Dong-young (then New United Democratic Party (UNDP) 26.1%; Lee Hoi-chang (Independent) 15.1%; other 10.1%. President Lee Myung-bak took office on 25 February 2008.
Last National Assembly election
The last National Assembly election took place on 9 April 2008. The GNP secured a majority with 153 seats, while the United Democratic Party (UDP) won 81. The Liberty Forward Party (LFP) won 18, the Pro-Park Alliance (PPA) 14, the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) 5, the Create Korea Party 3, and Independents 30. The next National Assembly election is scheduled for April 2012.
The UDP was formed in February 2008 by a merger between the United New Democratic Party and the Democratic Party. The GNP, previously known as the New Korea Party, was the ruling party under the Kim Young-sam Administration 1992-1997. The PPA was formed by supporters of former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye, who seceded from the GNP in 2007. The DLP was formed in 2000 and is Korea’s first labour-based party.Head of State: Elected President Lee Myung-bak (since February 2008)
Head of Government: President Lee Myung-bak
Cabinet Ministers:
Prime Minister - Han Seung-soo
Minister of Strategy and Finance - Yoon Jeung-hyun
Minister of Education, Science and Technology - Ahn Byong-man
Minister of Unification - Kim Ha-joong
Minister of Justice - Hyun in-taek
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Yu Myung-hwan
Minister of National Defence - Lee Sang-hee
Minister of Knowledge Economy - Lee Youn-ho
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism - Yu In-chon
Minister of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs - Jeon Jae-hee
Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries - Jang Tae-pyong
Minister of Public Administration and Security - Won Se-hoon
Minister of Environment - Lee Man-eui
Minister of Labour - Lee Young-hui
Minister of Gender Equality- Byun Do-yoon
Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs - Chung Jong-hwan
Minister of Trade - Kim Jong-hoon
Main Political Parties ( Headed by)
United Democratic Party (UDP) - Sohn Hak-kyu, Park Sang-cheon
Grand National Party - Kang Jae-seop
Democratic Labour Party - Cheon Young-se (acting)
Liberty Forward Party - Kim Hye-kyung, Shim Dae-pyung
GDP (2008) - US$953.5 billion (nominal GDP)
Real GDP growth - (2008) 4.1%
Exports (2007 fob) - US$371.76 billion (customs clearance basis)
Imports (2007 fob) - US$356.69 billion (customs clearance basis)
Inflation (2008) - 5.0%
Total external debt (Q3/2007) - US$342.7 billion
New Zealand/Korea Trade
NZ Exports (2008 fib) - NZ$1.36 billion
Main Goods Exports - Forest products, beef, aluminium, dairy products, petroleum oil, fruit, raw skins and hides, seafood.
NZ Imports (2008 cif) - NZ$1.06 billion
Main Imports - Petroleum oils, motor vehicles, mobile telephones, electronic goods, machinery, iron and steel, plastics.
The Republic of Korea (ROK) is a significant partner for New Zealand, as a likeminded friend in the region, with a wide range of linkages between the two countries and a well established and highly complementary trading relationship.
ROK’s economic growth following the devastating Korean War (1950-3) brought considerable wealth and development, placing ROK among advanced nations and giving it prominent international standing. Although the rapid pace at which ROK transformed its once agrarian society into an urban and industrialised nation affected its long-established social order, traditional values remain a powerful influence. Korea is still considered Asia’s most Confucian society.
The division of the Korean peninsula into sharply contrasting political and economic systems has had a fundamental influence on both domestic Korean politics and ROK’s strategic situation. While the North Korean (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK) economy has come close to collapse, its vast military machine and unique brand of Stalinism remain solidly in place. Progress in North/South engagement has been underwhelming but the process of dialogue and cooperation has continued despite the current nuclear impasse.
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The institutions of liberal democracy have been consolidated in ROK over the past 15 years, with the degree of pluralism in politics, civil society and the media placing Korea among the most democratic countries in Asia. ROK is a presidential style democracy, similar to the US. Executive power is in the hands of the President who serves a single five-year term and appoints ministers. A separate legislature, the unicameral National Assembly, is elected every four years. Of the 299 seats in the National Assembly, 245 are elected on a first past the post system and 54 on a proportional representation basis. Political parties in ROK have weak institutional roots, tending to coalesce around particular leaders and presidential candidates.
Domestic politics were largely military led from 1961 until 1987, when ROK held its first democratic elections. The two dominant Presidents during this period, Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan, both seized power in military coups. In 1993, President Kim Young-sam was sworn in as the country’s first civilian president in over 30 years. President Kim Dae-jung’s election in 1998 marked the first time in Korean history that the ruling party peacefully transferred power to a democratically elected opposition victor. President Roh Moo-hyun succeeded liberal rule in 2003, and his “participatory government” pursued further political and social reforms, while adopting former President Kim Dae-jung’s engagement policy towards North Korea.
President Lee Myung-bak took office on 25 February 2008, ending a decade of liberal rule. As the first Korean President with a business background, Lee is focused on economic development through deregulation and competition. As a first step, he is streamlining the public sector to pursue an efficient and pragmatic government. Lee is also focusing on reform of the public education sector, particularly English teaching. Internationally, Lee emphasises closer ties with traditional allies such as the US and Japan, while taking a tougher stance towards North Korea based on the principle of reciprocity.
President Lee enjoyed 59% support when he was elected. Early in his term he faced huge public opposition when an agreement was reached with the US allowing American beef imports to resume. Nightly candlelight rallies denouncing President Lee and American beef morphed into criticism of Lee’s education, foreign and other policies. (Lee’s support levels are around 22% as at January 2009).top of page
ROK’s economic development has traditionally been characterised by strong government intervention, top-down economic leadership and a high degree of economic control. Economic development was export-led and ROK inserted itself into the world market in a number of heavy industrial sectors (initially shipbuilding) by dint of strong competition supported by low-cost labour. Successive governments nurtured the development of chaebol, such as Samsung, Hyundai, LG and Daewoo. These huge family-run conglomerates have dominated the economy since the 1970s, though have begun to improve transparency and corporate management, in part due to government pressure. Increasingly, ROK has focussed on high-tech industries including electronics, semi-conductors and automobiles.
With its economic success founded on access to world markets, ROK remains a strong proponent of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Though supporting an ambitious level of increased market access in non‑agricultural goods and in many services, ROK takes a more defensive stance for several domestically sensitive sectors such as education, legal and health services, and agriculture. The average tariff for imported agricultural goods is 52.2 percent, compared to 6.7 percent for industrial goods. This is matched by one of the highest levels of agricultural support in the OECD, roughly equalling agriculture’s total contribution to ROK economy. Rice is by far the most sensitive agricultural product and ROK remains the only WTO member to maintain quantitative import restrictions on any product. Regarding WTO negotiations to strengthen ‘rules’, ROK is generally opposed to the use of anti-dumping measures but supports maintaining some forms of fish subsidies.
Until fairly recently, ROK relied mainly on the multilateral WTO process for trade liberalisation. It is now, however, active in pursuing bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTA), having concluded agreements with Chile, Singapore, and EFTA. The conclusion of Korea-US FTA negotiations (KORUS) in April 2007 was a significant milestone, although the agreed text needs to be ratified by legislature in both countries. Korea has also begun negotiations or preliminary inter-government processes with Canada, GCC, Mexico, EU, India, Japan, MERCOSUR and China. Korea has also concluded a number of “chapter agreements” with ASEAN. When the Chile and KORUS FTAs were concluded, the government established large packages of assistance for farmers, reflecting the strength of this lobby group.
Current challenges for the ROK economy are structural problems in the financial sector, corporate governance and the labour market. But with over US$262 billion in foreign reserves (at February 2008), ROK’s external position remains strong. Among the main longer term challenges for ROK economy are an ageing population (Korea became an ageing society in 2000, with 7% of people over 65 years old, and is predicted to become an aged society by 2018 (14% over 65) and hyper-aged by 2026 (20% over 65)) and the lowest birth rate in the OECD (1.26 per woman in 2007).
Though the indicators suggested that ROK was well-placed to withstand the global financial crisis, particularly in view of its annual growth rate and significant foreign reserves, ROK’s economy is suffering. This is a result of a combination of panic (engendered by some questionable media reporting and internet blogging), withdrawal of foreign investments (particularly by US investors), weakening trade balances and a shortage of foreign currency impacting negatively on the economy.
Both the foreign exchange rate and the KOSPI (stock index) have demonstrated “yo-yo” behaviour. In 2008 the won dropped 29% and the KOSPI fell 40.7%. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have particularly suffered, and even the largest conglomerates have taken some big hits. Unemployment is rising steadily. Growth forecasts for 2009 have been revised downwards from around 5% to 1-2% and some commentators think ROK will actually fall into recession for the first time since the 1997 Korean financial crisis.
In response, President Lee Myung-bak has placed strong emphasis on a “Green New Deal Job Creation Plan”, founded on projects financed by the government, which is expected to create 960,000 jobs over four years. Public enterprises are to increase investment, particularly in the construction (highway, railway, and innovative cities), energy (nuclear power plants), agriculture and cultural sectors.
Currency shortages made ROK economically vulnerable and late 2008 currency swap agreements were reached with Japan and China, following an earlier agreement with the US. The government also drew on its won reserves to build up currency holdings.
In international for a President Lee Myung-bak has emphasised the need for the international community to continue to deregulate and resist calls for greater protectionism. His agenda for 2009 places emphasis on broadening the range of FTAs between ROK and other partners. Resource diplomacy remains a priority.
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ROK’s foreign policy once revolved solely around the United States and Japan, and competition with DPRK for international legitimacy. Its horizons expanded rapidly, however, through the 1980s, and it joined the United Nations in September 1991 (with New Zealand’s strong support). The hosting of the 1988 Olympic Games was a turning point in Korea’s emergence onto the world stage. Today ROK is actively expanding and diversifying its diplomatic, investment and trade links and is an energetic player in regional and multilateral organisations. In October 2006, then Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon was elected as Asia’s second UN Secretary-General, marking a new height in ROK’s international diplomacy.
The DPRK (North Korea) nuclear issue remains a touchstone for ROK’s relationship with the international community, including New Zealand. Since the North-South Summit in June 2000, inter-Korean co-operation has become more institutionalised, diversified, and substantive. While progress remains fitful, the two Koreas have managed to push forward on some economic co-operation measures (the most notable being the Kaesung industrial park on the North’s side of the Demilitarised Zone), and shown increasing willingness to undertake cross-border military confidence-building measures. Despite the DPRK’s missile test in July 2006 and nuclear test in October 2006, the underlying engagement policy continued with a second inter-Korean summit in October 2007 when former President Roh visited Pyongyang.
President Lee has sought to differentiate himself from previous administrations’ policies towards the DPRK by taking a firmer stance. This has included ending unconditional food and fertiliser aid as well as demanding reciprocity in the relationship. This approach and the DPRK’s reaction have lead to deterioration in North-South relations to levels not seen since the early 1990s.
International effort to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through the Six Party Talks process involving the two Koreas, the US, China, Japan and Russia continues. New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters visited North Korea in November 2007 to lend New Zealand’s support to the international community’s effort to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula.
ROK gained membership of the OECD in December 1996, a move backed by New Zealand. It is an active member of the WTO, international financial institutions, regional fisheries organisations, UN agencies and regional organisations such as APEC (South Korea hosted APEC in Busan in 2005), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the Forum for East Asia Latin American Cooperation (FEALAC). ROK is an active aid donor, with an ODA budget of US$455 million or 0.05 percent of GNI in 2006, and it plans to increase ODA spending to 0.1% of GNI by 2009. In August 1995, ROK assumed dialogue partner status with the Pacific Islands Forum. ROK has contributed troops to UN Peace Support Operations in East Timor and elsewhere. It has also sent forces to Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. In August 2004 ROK deployed the Zaytun unit, a force of 2,400 military personnel, to Northern Iraq. The deployment was subsequently reduced to 650, and then withdrawn in 2008.
Relations with the United States continue to be a cornerstone of ROK's foreign, trade and defence policies, and it remains dependent on the US for several key aspects of its security, notably intelligence. The US currently has some 29,500 troops in South Korea (sharing costs with ROK), although it plans to reduce this number to 25,000 by September 2008 and to redeploy troops away from the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that bisects the peninsula. The two countries have recently agreed to transfer operational wartime command from the US to ROK by 2012. Korea and the United States also concluded a Free Trade Agreement on 1 April 2007. The KORUS FTA will be an important stimulant for strategic and commercial reasons. It is also likely to shape the course of economic integration in East Asia. The FTA is awaiting ratification in both Korea and the US.
Economic and political links with China are of fundamental importance. China has recently surpassed the US as ROK's largest export market, with exports totalling US$82 billion in 2007. China is the main destination for ROK investment, some 20,000 ROK companies have a presence in China, and just under 60,000 South Korean students study there. Both countries have been careful to manage an historical dispute that broke out in 2004, when an attempt by Chinese scholars to categorise the ancient Korean kingdom of Koguryo as having been part of China drew an angry public reaction in Korea. A similar tension has arisen over China’s claim over Mt Baekdu, a sacred mountain for Koreans, located on the border of DPRK and China.
Attitudes towards Japan are strongly coloured by the bitter legacy of Japan’s colonial rule of Korea (1910-1945). But there is increasing recognition on both sides of shared mutual interests. President Kim Dae-jung’s October 1998 visit to Japan ushered in a new period of improved relations, although former Prime Minister Koizumi’s visits to the Yasukuni Shrine put a halt to leaders’ meetings for almost two years. The two countries co-hosted the 2002 Soccer World Cup and the recent success of Korean film, television and music in Japan is helping improve trade, tourism and people-to-people links, especially among younger generations (a cultural phenomenon known as “Korean wave”, or “hallyu”). President Lee Myung-bak declared that Korea seeks to have a future-oriented relationship with Japan. But resurgent problems in the Korea–Japan relationship over the content of Japanese school textbooks, Yasukuni Shrine visits, naming dispute over East Sea/Sea of Japan, and a territorial dispute over Dokdo/Takeshima islets are capable of increasing bilateral tensions regardless of progress in other aspects of the relationship. The new administration is moving to restart stalled FTA negotiations with Japan.
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ROK is one of the most important regional partners for New Zealand. A strong relationship at the political, cultural and economic level underpins the two countries’ shared interests in a peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific. The bilateral relationship has its roots in New Zealand’s participation in the Korean War (1950-53) when over 6000 New Zealand troops served in Korea between 1950-57, 45 of whom lost their lives. Diplomatic relations were established in 1962 and a resident Embassy was established in Seoul in 1971. At an official level the relationship was built in the early years on involvement in development assistance programmes, both bilateral and multilateral. An estimated 300 Koreans studied or trained in New Zealand in the 1960s and 1970s under the Colombo Plan. New Zealand was also involved in the development of model beef and dairy farms and in the provision of technical exchanges and university scholarships.
Trade ties gained momentum in the 1980s when the booming ROK economy, rising living standards and urbanisation provided a ready market for New Zealand’s exports. By the mid-1990s, ROK had established itself as one of New Zealand’s top trading partners, and an important source of migrants, students and tourists. This process suffered a setback during the economic crisis of 1997-99, but ROK’s strong recovery has seen linkages expand.
ROK is New Zealand’s ninth largest trading partner (two-way trade totalled NZ$2.42 billion in the year to June 2008); our 2nd largest source of overseas students (over 17,000); our 6th largest source of visitors (81,761 in the year to November 2008), and an important source of migration. There are strong interdepartmental links across a wide range of government agencies and several large New Zealand businesses maintain offices in ROK. ROK is an important potential partner in such fields as science and technology, investment and film. There are increasing cultural interactions and sister city relations, and a growing number of links between educational institutions in both countries. There is a sizeable New Zealand community in South Korea (1,500-2,000 people), comprising professionals and a large number of English-language teachers, as well as Koreans with New Zealand residence or citizenship.
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At a non-government level, people-to-people links between New Zealand and ROK have been fostered by a number of organisations such as the Korean Veterans Association, the Korea-New Zealand Business Council, the Korea–New Zealand Association and the Busan-Auckland Friendship Association. Sister City Agreements have been concluded between several cities, including Auckland and Busan (Korea’s second largest city and major port) and Christchurch and Seoul’s Songpa District. Cultural and educational links between ROK and New Zealand have received support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation and the Korean Government’s Korea Foundation.
ImmigrationNew Zealand has a working holiday scheme with ROK, which is a reciprocal arrangement whereby young New Zealanders and Koreans can work in the other country for a period of up to one year. In 2003, the quota for the scheme was doubled from 400 to 800 places and this was fully subscribed in 2004. In 2005 this was again expanded to 1500 places. Around 36,000 people identified as ethnically Korean during the 2006 New Zealand census.
Korean Air operates regular services to Auckland. In October 2003 a second airline (Asiana) began flying to New Zealand, but withdrew its service in March 2005. A bilateral air services agreement was concluded in 1993 and has since been updated.
TourismRelaxation of restrictions on international travel by South Koreans combined with a prosperous economy resulted in a major surge in ROK outbound tourism in the 1990s. Following five years of little change, ROK tourism numbers to New Zealand reduced by 20% in the year to November 2008, to 81,000. This makes ROK New Zealand’s third largest Asian tourism market and sixth largest market overall. In 2007, South Korean tourists contributed NZ$315 million to the New Zealand economy. Each South Korean visitor to New Zealand spends an average of NZ$3,167. Tourism NZ operates an office in Seoul.
Education
With over 17,000 students at all levels, Korea contributes approximately $190 million to the New Zealand education sector annually, the second largest source after China. The majority of South Korean students in New Zealand study at English language institutes or schools, and there are also substantial tertiary enrolments. There is a sizeable New Zealand community of education workers in Korea, with around 750 English language tutors and professional teachers. The number of New Zealanders teaching in Korea may grow with an increasing trend for New Zealand-style education in South Korea.
All New Zealand universities have established relationships with ROK counterparts. The School of Asian Studies at the University of Auckland and the School of Asian and European Languages and Cultures at the Victoria University of Wellington offer Korean language and cultural studies at the undergraduate level. During Hon Trevor Mallard's visit to Korea in May 2004, the Association of Colleges of Education of New Zealand (ACENZ) signed an agreement with the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to provide teacher training to South Korean teachers in New Zealand. Similar arrangements for teaching training and professional development have taken place between regional offices of education and faculties of education at New Zealand universities. New Zealand also introduced international doctorate and undergraduate scholarships, and several Korean students have benefited from these scholarship schemes. A New Zealand education counsellor was appointed to Seoul in October 2007, with a particular focus on building research and tertiary linkages. The New Zealand Alumni Association in Korea has nearly 300 members and is growing rapidly.
Science and TechnologyROK's focus on information communications technology (ICT), biotechnology, environmental technology, energy technology and new materials has strong synergies with New Zealand's Economic Transformation Agenda and its focus on biotechnology, ICT and creative industries. New Zealand's Ministry of Research Science and Technology (MORST) is focusing on ROK as one of seven key partners for S&T linkages. The 2005 memorandum of understanding between Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF) and New Zealand's Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST) established a Focal Point Programme through which it was agreed that collaboration would progress in four science areas. Under this arrangement, there have been frequent visits by scientists in both directions, and several areas of joint research are emerging. The first phase of the programme concluded in May 2008.
FilmA New Zealand film industry delegation accompanied the Prime Minister on her visit to Korea in 2003 with the aim of showcasing New Zealand as a potential film location and as a post-production hub. In 2005 the Prime Minister, her counterpart Minister from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Chairperson of the Korea Broadcasting Commission signed the bilateral Audiovisual Cooperation Arrangement which seeks to facilitate cooperation in a range of areas, including training. Two groups of Korean technicians subsequently attended specially designed training courses in New Zealand. The Prime Minister opened the first Korean film festival in New Zealand at the end of 2004, and opened the second in December 2006. Meanwhile, the Embassy staged the first New Zealand film festival in Korea in 2005, which screened in five cities. There is increasing collaboration between the two industries in making feature films and TV dramas. Several Korean films have been partially made or post-produced in New Zealand. Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, You In-chon and Prime Minister Helen Clark signed the Film Co-Production Agreement (FCA) on 29 September 2008. Production of the first joint co-production film, film ‘Soul Mate’ is due to start in January 2009.top of page
New Zealand’s exports to ROK expanded rapidly during the 1990s, more than doubling in value between 1990 and 2000. During ROK’s economic crisis, New Zealand exports decreased temporarily (NZ$702 million in 1998), but merchandise exports recovered strongly to reach $1.37 billion in 2002. The high New Zealand dollar and fluctuations in ROK’s economic performance restricted the growth trend in exports to the ROK, worth NZ$1.36 billion in the year to June 2008. ROK remains New Zealand’s seventh largest trading partner (in goods); our sixth largest export destination and our seventh largest source of imports. Imports from ROK totalled NZ$1.06 billion in the same period. Our trading relationship is complementary, with New Zealand exports meeting South Korea’s industrial processing needs and ROK supplying important capital and consumer goods for New Zealand.
Trade in GoodsNew Zealand’s exports to ROK remain dominated by key commodities including wood products (particularly logs), aluminium, petroleum oil, fruit, dairy products, and other agricultural products, which together comprise nearly 60 percent of total exports. Korea is New Zealand’s principal market for deer velvet exports.
New Zealand’s imports from ROK have risen by almost 90 percent since 1990 and are dominated by cars and petroleum products, with cellphones taking an increasingly large share. Korean cars, electronics and computers have increased their market shares rapidly through competitive pricing and improvements in quality. Many Korean brand names such as LG Electronics, Samsung, Hyundai, and Daewoo are household names in New Zealand.
InvestmentInvestment appears relatively under-represented compared to other elements of the business relationship, although the complementarity of the two economies suggests considerable potential. Estimates suggest approximately US$157million worth of Korean investment over 619 cases in New Zealand (December 2007, Korea eximbank). New Zealand investment in Korea has often focused on joint venture activities related to New Zealand exports, for example agriculture and horticulture. Both countries are looking to develop the investment relationship, and in December 2006 the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) signed a memorandum of understanding to work more closely together.
Trade Access IssuesROK is a comparatively open market for industrial goods, but maintains a protectionist approach towards agricultural products. A market liberalisation programme for agriculture began in 1989, when ROK graduated from balance of payments provisions in the WTO. This was reinforced by ROK’s agreement in the Uruguay Round negotiations to provide increased market access for agricultural products. Dairy imports were previously limited, but have now been liberalised although tariffs remain high. Tariffs on beef are also high, but quota restrictions on beef imports were removed in January 2001. Kiwifruit exports also attract a particularly high tariff of 45%.
Sanitary and phytosanitary requirements remain a significant barrier to the expansion of New Zealand’s agricultural trade and are a key focus of our trade access work. Some of the high priority areas include access for potatoes, kumara, hake head and kiwiberry. These are currently being addressed bilaterally as well as through multilateral mechanisms (including the WTO). New Zealand recently gained access to the Korean market for sliced deer velvet and cervine semen and we are hopeful that there may be progress soon on other issues.
Steps Towards an FTANew Zealand remains interested in pursuing closer economic relations with ROK. As a key outcome from President Roh’s visit to New Zealand in December 2006, and part of the Partnership for the 21st Century adopted by the two leaders, he and Prime Minister Helen Clark announced that the two countries would commission private institutions to jointly undertake a feasibility study into an FTA between the two countries. This study began in February 2007 and was conducted by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, the Centre for International Economics and the Korean Institute of International Economic Policy. The study was completed early in 2008 and was endorsed by a joint roundtable of officials in April 2008.
As a key outcome of Prime Minister Helen Clark’s visit to ROK in May 2008, she and President Lee Myung-bak agreed to hold inter-governmental Preparatory Talks to discuss a possible Korea-New Zealand FTA. Since then two rounds of FTA preparatory talks have been held in 2008 to explore the potential scope and ambition of a bilateral FTA. Following successful preparatory talks ROK held a public hearing on a possible Korea-New Zealand FTA on 16 January 2009. New Zealand is now inviting public submissions on a possible FTA.
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New Zealand and Korea enjoy frequent ministerial visits across a wide range of portfolios. The Partnership for the 21st Century envisaged annual meetings of Foreign Ministers to further enhance the political relationship. A list of recent high-level visitors between the two countries is set out at the end of this document.
Regular bilateral officials-level meetings take place between New Zealand and ROK, including Foreign Ministry, Economic, Political and Military, and Customs and Forestry Consultations. The two Parliamentary Speakers established a programme for reciprocal visits of members of parliament (MP) in 1999. The Prime Minister’s Fellow Programme with Korea, initiated during her visit to ROK in 2001, has resulted in four visits to New Zealand by Korean MPs. New Zealand also invites key ROK economic experts and journalists to New Zealand under the Seriously Asia programme.
Regular exchanges also take place between a wide range of New Zealand and ROK government agencies. Links between New Zealand's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and New Zealand Customs with their ROK counterparts are particularly strong, with a number of reciprocal visits taking place each year. Links between education, cultural, and environmental agencies are also strengthening and give further depth to the bilateral relationship. New Zealand has been keen to cooperate with ROK in areas such as e-certification and border protection systems.
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New Zealand is a member of the United Nations Command (UNC) whose role since the end of the Korean War has been both to deter any aggression by North Korea and to oversee the 1953 armistice agreement. New Zealand's contributes through a Defence Attaché in Seoul, as well three full time New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel deployed to the UNC Military Armistice Commission in Korea. New Zealand's active involvement in the UNC reflects our support for a multilateral, UN-mandated security layer on the Korean peninsula.
A strong bilateral defence relationship has also developed over the last decade, at the political and military levels. Ships from both navies visited the other country in 2006, and joint exercises, training and visits take place regularly. Input to the policy framework for all of these interactions comes from annual military-military talks.
In November 2005, the Prime Minister unveiled a war memorial at the UN Memorial Cemetery (Korea) in Busan to honour New Zealanders who served in the Korean War. New Zealand veterans return each April for commemorative ceremonies at the UN Memorial Cemetery (Korea) where the graves of 34 New Zealanders are found, at Kap'yong (the site of the engagement between the Commonwealth Brigade (including 16th Artillery Regiment) and Chinese troops in April 1951), and in Seoul, where Anzac Day is commemorated. The Governor General joined veterans and NZDF delegations in South Korea for commemorations in April 2006.top of page
Recent High-level New Zealand visits to the Republic Of Korea
Recent High-level ROK visits to New Zealand
The "Travel Advice" section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website (www.safetravel.govt.nz) has comprehensive travel information including advice on the safety of travel to various countries. Enquiries may be directed to the Ministry’s Consular Division by:
Phone: (04) 439-8000,
Fax: (04) 439 8532
Email: cons@mfat.govt.nz.
New Zealand and Korea share a visa free arrangement to enable their respective citizens to travel to the others country for the purpose of tourism and short term business activity. A visa valid for up to three months can be obtained on arrival.
