ABSTRACT
In June 1998, Korea hammered out full-scale participation in EVSL for the first time at the Cabinet Minister level, surprising the members of the APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade in Kuching, Malaysia. Furthermore, in the conferences in Kuala Lumpur in November 1998, Korea proposed trade liberalization of its most sensitive sectors, including fish and fish products and forest products. This action was so dramatic that it prompted Charlene Barshefsky, United States Trade Representative (USTR), to call it ‘the proposal which couldn’t be believed.’1 Korea suddenly showed a positive movement toward liberalization, while it had had a negative position towards opening its market further since the Uruguay Round.
