Recent Trends and Statistics of Treaties in Korea

• Conclusion of treaties

  Since the establishment of the Korean Government in 1948 until 2024, 3570 treaties - 2820 bilateral and 750 multilateral - were concluded by the Republic of Korea and put into force. In the first thirteen-year period from 1948 to 1960, only 102 treaties - 66 bilateral and 36 multilateral - came into force, whereas in the eleven-year period from 2011 to 2024, 823 treaties - 687 bilateral and 136 multilateral - came into force.

  • Treaties Concluded by the Republic of Korea (by date of entry into force)
    

    (As of December 31, 2024, MOFA)

    Treaties Concluded by the Republic of Korea

    Year	1948~ 1960	1961~ 1970	1971~ 1980	1981~ 1990	1991~ 2000	2001~ 2010	2011~ 2024	Total
    Number of bilateral treaties concluded	66	229	329	329	531	649	687	2,820
    Number of multilateral treaties concluded	36	63	94	116	134	171	136	750
    subtotal	102	292	423	445	665	820	823	3,570

• Recent trend in the conclusion of treaties

  The recent trend in concluding treaties in Korea can be summarized as follows: First, the number of the treaties has increased rapidly. 687 bilateral treaties were concluded from 2011 to 2024, whereas only 66 were concluded in the entire period from 1948 to 1960. Second, regarding bilateral treaties, areas in which treaties are concluded have expanded and an increasing number of treaties related to economic matters, such as conventions for avoiding double taxation, the protection of investment and air service, have been concluded. Third, regarding multilateral treaties, treaties dealing with global matters such as trade, human rights, and disarmament have been more concluded in recent years, which reflects the fact that states have strengthened inter-dependent relations among themselves.