South Korea calls for wider trade deal ahead of Prabhu's Seoul visit

Indian companies have repeatedly contended that the CEPA benefits Korean companies much more than Indian ones

The government of South Korea has expressed a desire to widen the existing trade agreement with India, a day before commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu is to visit Seoul for a review.

However, the Government of India (GoI) might not be keen on broadening the terms, a senior commerce department official indicated.

Pointing to the massive gold import from Korea in recent months apart from remaining non-tariff barriers, he said many parts of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) of 2009 needed working on.

On Wednesday, Young Sam Kim, the Korean deputy minister for trade, industry and energy, observed