South Korea and Mexico are expected to launch negotiations for a bilateral free trade pact next year.

South Korean Ambassador to Mexico Chun Bee-ho revealed during a parliamentary audit in Seoul on Thursday that he had comprehensive discussions regarding a bilateral free trade agreement(FTA) with Mexico’s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal in early September.

Chun said he secured the Mexican government's desire to launch FTA negotiations with South Korea early next year, adding that if Mexico's Senate ratifies the Trans-Pacific Partnership(TPP) in November, it will prioritize FTA negotiations with South Korea next.

President Park Geun-hye and Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto agreed during a summit in April to hold a working-level meeting in the fourth quarter of this year to discuss the FTA negotiations and South Korea’s potential membership in the TPP.