South Korean President Park Geun-hye called Thursday for further liberalization of a free trade agreement with Southeast Asian countries to boost business opportunities in one of the world's fastest-growing regions.

A free trade agreement between South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on merchandise took effect in 2007. Similar deals on services and investments also came into effect in 2009.

ASEAN has emerged as one of the key trade partners of South Korea in recent decades. ASEAN is South Korea's No. 2 investment destination and second-largest trade partner, with two-way trade amounting to $135 billion last year, up 16 times from 1989, according to South Korean data.

Still, Park said South Korean companies could not fully take advantage of the free trade deal due mainly to its relatively illiberal terms.

"We should expand business opportunities through additional liberalization of the FTA," Park said in a speech for hundreds of business leaders from the region.

She also called on South Korea and ASEAN to expand their economic cooperation to service sectors beyond the energy and manufacturing areas.

Park delivered the speech before holding back-to-back meetings with leaders of six Asian countries, including Indonesia and Singapore.

Park also plans to host a welcoming banquet later in the day for the Asian leaders who came to South Korea's second-largest city of Busan.

The two-day summit is designed to boost the strategic partnership with ASEAN on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue between the two sides.

ASEAN -- which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam -- represents 3.2 percent of the global gross domestic product and nearly 7 percent of global trade.

On Wednesday, South Korea and Vietnam announced the effective conclusion of a free trade deal meant to boost bilateral trade by removing barriers, but excluded rice from the agreement.

The deal is the latest in a series of free trade agreements that South Korea has clinched in recent years as part of its efforts to boost growth in the country's export-driven economy. (Yonhap)