In 2005, ASEAN and Korea signed the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (Framework Agreement), which laid the foundation for the establishment of the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA). ASEAN and Korea subsequently signed four agreements on Dispute Settlement, Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, and Investment that form the legal instruments for establishing the AKFTA.

• Agreement on Trade in Goods (AKTIGA). Signed on 24 August 2006 and took effect in June 2007, the AKTIGA sets out the preferential trade arrangement between ASEAN and Korea with progressive tariff reduction and elimination over time. The AKTIGA has allowed ASEAN exports greater market access to Korea. ASEAN and Korea continued to improve the AKTIGA through a series of amendments. The First Protocol entered into force on 1 March 2011 and incorporates into the Agreement the tariff lines placed in Group E of the Highly Sensitive List of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The Second Protocol, which came into effect on 11 July 2012, incorporates a new Article on Acceleration of Tariff Concessions and amendments to an existing Article on Amendments. Most recently, the Third Protocol to Amend the AKTIGA took effect on 1 January 2016 and was implemented by all Parties in 2023. The Third Protocol incorporates amendments to the Article on Transparency, Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, new Articles on Advance Rulings and Enquiry Points, amendments related to Rules of Origin, and amendments on tariff concessions that clarifies the scope and conditions under which certain Parties may apply reciprocal arrangement in regard to tariff rate treatment. It also incorporates Parties’ line-by-line Tariff Reduction Schedules (TRS) to the AKTIGA.


• Agreement on Trade in Services (AKTISA). Signed on 21 November 2007 and came into force on 1 May 2009, the Agreement provides greater market access for ASEAN and Korean service providers. Building on their existing commitments in the WTO under General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), ASEAN and Korea both improved their levels and depth of commitments in additional sectors/subsectors and eased up restrictions on entry and treatment on a wide range of service sectors.


• Agreement on Investment (AKIA). Signed on 2 June 2009 and took effect on 1 September 2009, this Agreement aims to provide a transparent and conducive environment for ASEAN and Korean investors through investment protection, promotion, and facilitation.

Fifteen years after its entry into force, ASEAN and Korea are discussing the AKFTA upgrade to ensure that it remains commercially meaningful and relevant to businesses, trade facilitative, modern, forward-looking, and responsive to regional and global developments. ASEAN and Korea finalised the Joint Scoping Paper (JSP) for the AKFTA Upgrade, where the Leaders agreed to commence the AKFTA Upgrade Negotiations in 2026, upon completion of respective domestic procedures, at the 26th ASEAN-ROK Summit on 27 October 2025.

In addition to the AKFTA, ASEAN and Korea also signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement in 2020 and continues to maintain close economic cooperation through engagement in other ASEAN-led mechanisms such as the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) and East-Asia Summit.