S. Korea's parliament ratifies FTA with Britain

South Korea's parliament on Monday ratified the free trade agreement (FTA) with Britain in a bid to prepare for the European country's exit from the European Union (EU), according to Seoul's trade ministry.

Under the ratification by the National Assembly, the South Korea-Britain FTA will be immediately implemented after the so-called no-deal Brexit.

In case of a deal Brexit, the bilateral FTA will take effect after a transition period.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement that the ratification was part of efforts to preemptively respond to more complicated trade environments.

The Seoul-London FTA was focused on maintaining benefits from the South Korea-EU FTA that came into force in July 2011.

Britain is the 18th biggest trading partner for South Korea, taking up less than 2 percent of Seoul's total trade.