South Korea’s free trade pact with the European Union, which went into effect in July 2011, allowed growth of local exports to the giant economic bloc, helping Asia’s fourth-largest economy to outpace rivals, a report showed Sunday.

According to data by the Korea International Trade Association, exports to the EU following the free trade agreement consistently did better than those of China, Japan and Taiwan, despite weak demand caused by the recent European financial crisis that hurt trade across the board. KITA said that in the July 2011 to June 2012 period, outbound shipments surged 18.4 percent on-year, while numbers for rivals stood still or contracted.

In the second year that ran from July 2012 through June of last year, Seoul’s exports suffered setbacks as the European continent was rocked by mounting economic uncertainties and some countries tackled their debt issues, but its 0.4 percent on-year contraction was mild compared with losses sustained by others. (Yonhap)