SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's finance ministry on Wednesday expected a possible no-deal Brexit to have a limited impact on its economy given the relatively low trade volume between Seoul and London.
First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Ho-seung held an emergency meeting with officials from relevant ministries to discuss countermeasures for a possible no-deal Brexit, which means the British exit from the European Union (EU) without an agreement on the post-Brexit relationship between the two sides.
British lawmakers overwhelmingly voted down Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal overnight, sparking worry about a no-deal Brexit.
Lee told the emergency meeting that the rejection of the deal had a limited impact on the global financial market as it was widely forecast.
The first vice minister said if the no-deal Brexit is realized, though its possibility is low, its direct impact on the South Korean economy was expected to be limited as the bilateral trade volume is low.
South Korea's goods export to Britain was 5.4 billion U.S. dollars for the first 11 months of last year, while its import from Britain amounted to 6.2 billion dollars. South Korea's trade in 2018 topped 1 trillion dollars for the second consecutive year.
However, South Korean companies doing businesses with British partners could be influenced negatively by the no-deal Brexit as they may not enjoy benefit from the country's free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU anymore. South Korea has been pushing for a bilateral FTA with Britain.
The vice minister said the South Korean government will take necessary measures pre-emptively while considering the worse-case scenarios, including a no-deal Brexit.
