Singapore and South Korea Launch Talks to Upgrade 20-Year-Old Free Trade Agreement

Singapore and South Korea have launched negotiations to upgrade their bilateral free trade agreement as it marks 20 years since entering into force.

The Korea-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, which was signed on 4th August 2005 and took effect on 2nd March 2006, has underpinned trade and investment flows between the two economies for two decades. On Monday, 2nd March 2026, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and visiting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced the start of upgrade negotiations following a summit at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters.

In a joint statement issued by Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Resources, both sides said they would modernise the agreement upon completion of their domestic procedures.

The upgrade is expected to expand cooperation in supply chain resilience, the green economy, trade facilitation and aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul.

Prime Minister Wong said the agreement must reflect current global realities. “Over the past two decades, the global trading landscape has evolved significantly, with greater emphasis on supply chain resilience, digital trade and the green transition,” Prime Minister Wong said at a joint press conference.

Prime Minister Wong added that the upgrade would “ensure it remains forward-looking, relevant and beneficial to our businesses and workers”.

The negotiations build on the strategic partnership established in November 2025, when the two countries marked 50 years of diplomatic relations.

The leaders also witnessed the exchange of five memorandums of understanding to strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence, civil nuclear energy, intellectual property, science and technology, and environmental monitoring.

An agreement on artificial intelligence and enabling digital technologies for public safety was signed between Singapore’s Home Team Science and Technology Agency and South Korea’s National IT Industry Promotion Agency. It was inked by HTX chief executive Chan Tsan and NIPA president Park Yun Kyu. The memorandum establishes a framework for the responsible development and use of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in public safety, promotes knowledge exchange through workshops, seminars, conferences and events, supports innovation ecosystems, and explores dual-use technologies with startups and industry partners.

In the civil nuclear energy sector, the Energy Market Authority of Singapore and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co Ltd signed a memorandum on capability building in small modular reactors. Described as the first such agreement between a Korean nuclear power company and a Singapore government agency, it covers joint studies on small modular reactor applications in Singapore, human resource development, training, and the sharing of technical information and best practices in advanced nuclear technologies. The agreement supports the Energy Market Authority’s exploration of decarbonisation pathways for Singapore’s power system to ensure reliable, secure and sustainable energy.

Singapore’s National Environment Agency and South Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research renewed their July 2023 environmental monitoring agreement until July 2029. The arrangement allows for the sharing of satellite data from the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer, launched in 2020, which provides near real-time hourly daytime air quality measurements across Asia and has supported haze monitoring efforts in Singapore. Both sides will continue developing new satellite products and improving atmospheric dispersion models for regional haze forecasts.

Additional memorandums cover broader cooperation in science and technology, including quantum computing, space and satellite technologies, as well as intellectual property collaboration to support artificial intelligence transitions and policy sharing.

President Lee highlighted Singapore’s diplomatic role, recalling its hosting of the 2018 US-North Korea summit. “Eight years ago, Singapore demonstrated exceptional diplomatic leadership for peace through communication and engagement. I am confident that Singapore will continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula and across the region,” President Lee said.

The leaders also discussed recent developments in the Middle East. “We assessed the impact of the situation on global security in the world economy, including the energy supply chains, and share the hope that stability and peace will soon be restored in the Middle East,” President Lee said.

President Lee’s state visit from 1st–3rd March 2026 included a ceremonial welcome, a courtesy call on Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and an orchid naming ceremony in honour of President Lee and First Lady Kim Hea Kyung. The orchid was named Vanda Lee Jae Myung Kim Hea Kyung.

Prime Minister Wong hosted a lunch for President Lee, and President Tharman hosted a state banquet in the evening.

The launch of upgrade negotiations and the signing of new agreements reflect the expanding strategic and economic partnership between Singapore and South Korea, with a focus on digital trade, clean energy and advanced technologies.