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Safcham asks Yoon government to sign FTA with at least one African country

South African Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman Timothy Dickens / Courtesy of Daeryook & Aju

By Park Jae-hyuk

Africa has emerged recently as one of the major focuses of the Korean government, since support from countries of the African continent will be essential for Busan to win the race against Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Italy's Rome and Ukraine's Odesa to be selected as the venue for the 2030 World Expo.

While the central and municipal governments have invited African ambassadors to the second-largest city of Korea to win them over, top conglomerates are also planning to send economic delegations to the continent.

Korea's trading partnerships with African nations, however, appear to be not strong enough yet to ensure their support for Busan's bid to host the international event, according to Timothy Dickens, the chairman of the South African Chamber of Commerce in Korea (Safcham).

Established in late 2016, Safcham is currently the only African chamber of commerce in Korea. It has therefore been willing to help African businesspeople from all across the continent, even if they are not South Africans.

Dickens, who has worked for the Korean law firm Daeryook & Aju since 2013 as a foreign attorney qualified in both England and South Africa, urged the Korean government to show African countries its commitment to expanding relations and business.

"Actions prove louder than mere words," he told The Korea Times in a recent interview held on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic ties.

The Safcham chairman particularly pointed out the fact that no African country comes even close to being in Korea's top 25 trading partners.

"Roughly only 1 percent of Korea's trade is done with Africa as a whole," he said. "By contrast, Korea's largest trading partner, China, which has an equivalent-size consumer market with 1.4 billion people, makes up a total of 25 percent of Korea's trade. As you can see, this does not make a lot of sense when considering market sizes and potential."

Dickens advised the Korean government to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with at least one African country under the presidency of Yoon Suk-yeol, saying that the lack of an FTA has made it "extremely" difficult for African products to compete with other products in Korea.

Although Korea's previous Moon Jae-in administration had talks with the Egyptian government on a potential trade pact, there has yet to be any FTA signed between Korea and an African country.

"As an example, South African wine is some of the best wine that you will find, but due to import taxes and duties, it makes it unfeasible for exporters to consider Korea," Dickens said. "Additionally, it prices the product out of the market where you will have the U.S., European, Chilean and Australian wines having a distinct advantage."

He emphasized that Korea will also enjoy benefits if it signs an FTA with any African country, thanks to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

AfCFTA refers to an intra-African economic bloc including 54 out of 55 African Union nations. It has removed trade barriers to foreign companies operating across the African continent, opening access to its population of almost 1.4 billion.

"South Africa supplies large-scale ore slag and ash together with iron and steel to Korea," Dickens said. "In addition, we have the world's richest deposits of platinum, so with the current move towards green carbon, this could be a massive area of interest for South African business towards Korean companies."

South African Chamber of Commerce in Korea Chairman Timothy Dickens, second row fourth from left, poses with participants in the Korea-Africa Business-Financial Seminar in Busan, June 10. Courtesy of Korea-Africa Foundation

Hopes for foreign-friendly business policies

Eased regulations were also mentioned as what Safcham wanted from the Korean government.

The Safcham chairman recognized the current administration for its continuous efforts to make the business environment in Korea a little more foreigner-friendly.

Just like members of other foreign chambers in Korea, however, he added that there are still many policies, practicalities and restrictions that make Korea more burdensome to do business in than one might find in other countries.

The attorney particularly criticized the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which could send a company's CEO to jail if a fatal industrial accident occurs at a company worksite.

He regarded the law as one of the issues that makes foreign companies reluctant to choose Korea as their first destination, although he viewed Korea as an "excellent" country for South African businesspeople to use as a "doorway" into the Asian market, due to its efficiency, safety and speed of business.