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By Seok Jin-hwan, Blue House correspondent

President Park Geun-hye is planning to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will be held in Bali, Indonesia, from Oct. 7 to Oct. 8. In advance of the summit, the government and the Blue House are preparing to officially announce participation in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP), an option that they have been reviewing with interest for some time.

The TPP is a multilateral free trade agreement being spearheaded by the US. Currently, twelve countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Australia, Chile, Mexico, and Canada are participating in negotiations for the partnership. More recently, Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines also hinted that they are considering taking part in the negotiations.

“We have continued reviewing the option of participating in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” said Ju Chul-gi, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and security, during a press briefing on Oct. 3. “We are very interested in the TPP, since many of the countries that are taking part in the negotiations are APEC members. It could increase cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.”

When a reporter asked whether the South Korean government might officially announce its participation in the negotiations during the APEC summit, the presidential secretary said that he didn’t know whether that much progress would be made toward a decision at the APEC summit. But he added, “There has been plenty of talk about South Korean participation during working-level talks at such meetings. It could now be discussed at the summit level this time.”

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to say any more about it myself,” Ju said. “You are welcome to go ahead and draw some conclusions from what I’ve already said.”

While previously the government had maintained that it was still reviewing the TPP, these comments suggest that it is now leaning toward taking part in negotiations for the partnership.

In regard to the advantages and disadvantages of the TPP negotiations, the South Korean government is concerned that Japan would gain the advantage in competition over regional trade and that South Korea would face difficulties in issues such as technological standards if the TPP is ratified without South Korea’s participation.

On the other hand, if Korea does participate in negotiations, it could lead to a sticky situation where the country would come under pressure from countries that have not signed a free trade agreement with South Korea - including Japan, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand - to open up its parts and supplies and agriculture and livestock markets.

On the same day, US commercial journal “Inside U.S. Trade” quoted a South Korean government source as saying, “The South Korean government has more or less officially decided to take part in the TPP. It is currently weighing the options of announcing this over the APEC summit meeting or of announcing it in Seoul prior to the APEC summit.”

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]