By Lee Hana

"Brexit won't affect the trade relationship between Korea and the U.K.," said British Ambassador to Korea Charles Hay during the fifth meeting organized by a Korean task force that has been formed to address the impact on Korean business of the U.K.'s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). The meeting was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on April 12.

"The U.K. will solidify its institutional framework to prevent Brexit from negatively affecting the beneficial rewards under of the Korea-EU free trade agreement. The most important aspect of the Korea-U.K. relationship is trade. Therefore, it's important that we continue to strengthen our bilateral economic ties," said the ambassador.

"Despite the decision to withdraw from the EU, the U.K. will remain a 'Global Britain' and approach foreign policy in an open manner. Moreover, we will develop a new partnership with the EU, while maintaining extensive free trade policies with its members," said the top British envoy, reassuring the Seoul officials.

"The Brexit announcement did cause alarm among the international community, but if we approach it from a positive light, the turnaround could be an opportunity for Korea to strengthen relations with the U.K. and the EU," said MOFA's Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Tae-ho. "We will work to strengthen Korea-U.K. cooperation so that Brexit has no negative impact on our bilateral relations," he said.

hlee10@korea.kr