From Noor Shamsiah Mohamed

SEOUL, June 13 (Bernama) -- South Korea has proposed to Malaysia to have a dedicated free trade agreement (FTA) with that country, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said Wednesday.

He said the suggestion was made by South Korea Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik in a move to enhance and boost bilateral trade between the two trading nations.

"Eventhough South Korea has many trade and investment linkages through the Asean FTA, they feel a dedicated Malaysia-South Korea FTA will be better.

"It will enable South Korea to complement whatever existing facilities, be they in the form of market taxes and market access because Malaysia promises a huge potential for the republic," he told reporters after calling on Kim and meeting 18 captains of industry here.

Muhyiddin said he had agreed in principle to Kim's suggestion but a final decision would be made next month.

-- BERNAMA