South Korea plans to thoroughly check the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and determine what impact it will have on Asia's fourth-largest economy, the government said Friday.
  

A day before the plan was unveiled at the trade promotion committee meeting in Seoul the countries that inked the multinational deal began releasing the full text of the agreement.
  

The mega trading bloc pact between the United States, Japan, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Vietnam, Chile, Peru, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, which aims to free up commerce in about 40 percent of the world's economy, was signed in early October. South Korea hasn't participated in the negotiations, although policymakers have said it plans to do so down the line.
  

Officials at the committee chaired by Trade and Industry Minister Yoon Sang-jick said Seoul will actively come up with policies to cope with the TPP.
  

"Based on the released text, the government plans to compare the mega trade agreement with the free trade pacts signed by South Korea and other countries," a source said.
  

He said that offers of tariff concessions in goods, services and investment will be examined carefully, along with newer rules governing state-owned enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, and conformity of regulations.
  

The government will examine what impact the TPP agreements will have, and after reporting its assessment to the National Assembly and holding public hearings, make a decision on how to approach the mega trading bloc. This will include making a decision on joining it as a full-fledged member.
  

Related to the assessment, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said there were no surprises in the TPP and that for the most part the level of openness was on par with the free trade agreement currently in place between South Korea and the United States.
  

The bilateral FTA that went into effect on March 2013 is rated as one of the most liberal trade agreements reached so far. Under the deal, Seoul pledged to open 100 percent of its manufactured goods market and 98 percent of its farm sector to imports.
  

The U.S. has made the commitment to fully open its domestic market to South Korean goods. The level of openness for the TPP stands at 95-100 percent.
  

In addition to the TPP, the trade committee reviewed updates to the FTA with Chile that has been in place for a decade. (Yonhap)