Korea and Indonesia will hold their first round of free trade talks this week as part of an effort to further boost their bilateral trade volume, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday.
Negotiators from the two countries will meet in Jakarta on Thursday to discuss the scope and coverage of the free trade pact and other issues, according to the ministry.
In March, Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced the launch of talks on a so-called comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), which is equivalent to a free trade agreement.
In 2011, Korea and Indonesia held three rounds of preliminary talks last year under an agreement to conduct a joint study into the possibility of a bilateral free trade pact.
Indonesia is South Korea's eighth-largest trading partner with bilateral trade reaching $30.7 billion in 2011. Korea's shipments to Indonesia surged 52.4 percent on-year to $13.56 billion last year, with imports from the Southeast Asian country gaining 23.1 percent to $17.21 billion, according to government data.
Korea has a free trade agreement (FTA) with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that includes Indonesia. But the country has also been seeking bilateral pacts with some ASEAN members to further boost trade with the region.
Indonesia is the most populous ASEAN member and has rich natural resources.
Korea, a resource-scarce nation that relies mainly on exports for economic growth, has been aggressively seeking free trade accords with foreign countries to expand what Lee calls the country's "economic territory."
The fourth-largest Asian economy has eight FTAs already in effect, including those with the United States, the European Union and India, and is in negotiations with seven other nations, including Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.