South Korea's minister urged lawmakers Thursday to swiftly approve free trade agreements with China and Vietnam in order to turn around slumping exports.
  

Seoul formally signed the FTA with China, its largest trading partner and the world's No. 2 economy, on June 1, while the pact with Vietnam was reached in May.  
  

In a meeting with reporters in Sejong City, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick stressed the two countries represent South Korea's first- and third-largest overseas markets for locally made products.
  

"There are some outstanding issues that need to be checked, but the government is committed to working closely with lawmakers so the FTAs can be ratified as soon as possible," he said.
  

The minister's call comes after Asia's fourth-largest economy said its outbound shipments nosedived 14.7 percent on-year to $39.3 in August, marking the biggest on-year drop in six years.
  

For the first eight months this year, the country's exports fell 6.1 percent on-year to $354.5 billion, with the trade balance in the black by $58.3 billion.
  

Yoon also said that parliament should do its utmost to approve the free trade pact signed with New Zealand in March.
  

With China experiencing some troubles, the importance of Southeast Asian countries are on the rise, Yoon said, adding it was because local companies have expanded their presence in places like Vietnam, that the China shock is being felt less.
  

He also said Russia is feeling the pinch from falling oil prices and sanctions imposed by Western countries for its annexation of the Crimea, but South Korea is interested in forging an FTA with the country and the Eurasian Economic Union -- Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
  

Yoon said he planned to broach the FTA issue during the Eastern Economic Forum gathering in Vladivostok.
  

"I expect the EEU FTA matter to be resolved relatively quickly since there are no real obstacles," he said.
  

Yoon, who is slated to visit Iran around November, said that South Korean companies should move to tap Tehran's pent-up demand, following years of international sanctions. (Yonhap)