The Minister for Trade, Simon Crean, welcomed the agreement today by the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-bak.

Mr Crean said that Korea had negotiated or was negotiating FTAs with the United States, the European Union, Canada, ASEAN, New Zealand, Chile and others.

“Some of the concessions gained by other countries are a threat to Australian exporters to Korea,” he said.

“So it’s crucial for Australia to push ahead quickly with negotiations."

Mr Crean said: “Australia and Korea are important trading nations.

"We are sending a strong signal to the rest of the world that now is not the time to retreat into protectionism.

"We are saying that trade is part of the answer, it is not the problem.

"I’m confident that we will produce a comprehensive FTA that will support growth, jobs and livelihoods in Australia."

Trade between the two countries in 2007-08 reached $22.8 billion, with exports worth $16.1 billion in that period.

The largest export items in 2007-08 were crude petroleum ($2.4bn), coal ($2.4bn), iron ore ($2.1bn), beef ($763m) and aluminium ($710m).

Tourism and education exports have also increased strongly in recent years.

A joint non-Government report found that an Australia-Korea FTA could boost Australia’s GDP by up to US$22.7 billion over 14 years (A$30 billion using the 2005 exchange rate).