South Korea will not apply to join CPTPP this year as Lee calls for talks with farmers and fishers

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ordered officials on October 8 not to apply for membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2026. The decision delays a possible discussion of South Korea’s membership at a November ministerial meeting, as the government seeks further talks with farmers and fishers concerned about the effects of joining.

The presidential office said officials should continue that dialogue without setting a deadline. It described CPTPP membership as an important option that remains under review. The order rules out an application this year; it does not set a replacement date or announce that South Korea has abandoned the idea of joining.

Why the November CPTPP timetable has slipped

The Cabinet discussed accession on October 6, according to the presidential briefing. Officials said a plan for a public hearing would have had to appear in the official gazette by mid-October for South Korea’s membership to be discussed at the CPTPP ministerial meeting scheduled for November. Lee’s instruction removes an application this year from that timetable.

The president’s office framed the pause around the need for trust and shared understanding with farmers and fishers. Its briefing said restoring trust was a priority in pursuing trade policy. It did not identify a date by which those discussions must finish, leaving open when the government might return to a formal application.

What the government projects for factories and rural producers

Government projections cited by Yonhap estimate that joining the CPTPP could add 0.38 percentage points to South Korea’s real GDP over 10 years. They also put the potential increase in manufacturing production at 6.7 trillion won a year over 15 years. Those are estimates of possible effects if South Korea joins, rather than gains already recorded.

Aju Press reported the manufacturing estimate as a range of 6.3 trillion to 6.7 trillion won annually over 15 years. Within that projection, the expected effect for small and medium-sized enterprises was 1.1 trillion to 1.2 trillion won. The figures help explain the economic case for accession, but they do not establish when an application will be made.

The projections also show why the decision matters to rural producers. Yonhap cited an estimated annual production decline of about 850 billion won in agriculture and fisheries. Aju Press reported a breakdown of the projected decline across agriculture, forestry and fisheries: 710 billion won for agriculture, 60.6 billion won for forestry and 81.7 billion won for fisheries.

These figures describe projected sector effects of future membership, not losses caused by the October 8 order. The president’s office has made further engagement with farmers and fishers part of its approach to the trade pact. The sources do not establish how the government would address every projected loss or what outcome of the talks would prompt a new timetable.

What South Korea has done so far

Aju Press reported that South Korea completed an economic-impact analysis and held public hearings in 2022 before deciding to pursue accession. No application followed during the Moon Jae-in administration, the outlet reported. Lee’s latest instruction therefore concerns the timing of an application that has yet to be filed, despite earlier preparatory work.

Officials have continued gathering views from sectors with different interests in accession. According to Aju Press, the government met manufacturing representatives on October 2 and held meetings with retail, finance, content and intellectual-property stakeholders on October 8. Those consultations took place alongside the decision to extend dialogue with farmers and fishers.

The presidential spokesperson also said the government plans to secure 700 billion won in public funds. That is the outstanding portion of a 1 trillion won Rural Mutual Cooperation Fund promised during parliamentary ratification of the Korea-China free trade agreement in 2015, according to the briefing. The statement describes a funding plan; it does not say the money has been secured.

For now, the immediate change is a clear limit on the 2026 schedule: South Korea will not submit a CPTPP application this year. Membership remains under consideration, while the government continues discussions with affected groups. Neither the presidential office nor the cited reports provide a new application date or a defined condition for restarting the formal process.