The regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement (RCEP) entered into force for South Korea on the 1st. According to the news previously released by the Ministry of industry, trade and resources of South Korea, the South Korean parliament passed the RCEP approval on December 2, 2021, and the South Korean government officially submitted the approval to the ASEAN Secretariat, the custodian of the agreement, the next day. The ASEAN Secretariat informed that RCEP will officially enter into force for South Korea on February 1, 2022. According to statistics, exports to RCEP member countries account for half of South Korea's overall exports. With the entry into force of RCEP for South Korea, South Korea and Japan will establish bilateral free trade relations for the first time. Since January 1, RCEP has officially entered into force for Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. RCEP now has 15 member countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and 10 ASEAN countries, accounting for about 30% of the global total in terms of population, economic volume and total trade. (Xinhua News Agency)