The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is a flagship project of the African Union (AU) in the implementation of the Agenda 2063 aiming to unify Africa. It is a newly established institution that was formally declared to commence on 30 May 2019. Major provisions, such as rules-of origin (ROO), non-tariff barriers, and safeguards are currently under active discussions; the minimum provisions that generally constitute an FTA, such as preferential tariff, concessions, ROO, have not been agreed upon as of yet. However, the AU’s determination to achieve ultimate economic integration of the African continent seems to be unwavering. As such, the advent of a market with a US$3 trillion GDP and a population of 1.25 billion is an inevitable outcome.
   As a matter of fact, the AfCFTA is an institution whose coming was very much expected. The genesis of the AfCFTA dates back to the time of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in the 1960s. The rise of Pan-Africanism led to the birth of the OAU, which was the beginning of a step towards the unity and integration of the fragmented African economies and to integrate them with the international economy.
   The genesis of the AfCFTA dates back to the Lagos Plan of Action of 1980 and the Abuja Treaty of 1991. The AfCFTA soon became a reality in the negotiation of the Continental FTA at the African Union’s Head of States meeting in 2012 and subsequently its signing by 44 Heads of States in Kigali, Rwanda in 2018. The AfCFTA established its fundamental objectives with the unity and development of Africa by creating an integrated single market based on free movement of capital and labour, thus promoting intra-continental trade activities. It is expected to generate positive effects in all aspects of the African economy, such as boosting intra-continental trade, building regional value chains, integrating of Africa with the global value chain, etc.
   However, there are downsides to instituting the AfCFTA. Firstly, the AfCFTA is an FTA with the highest income inequality among member countries. The gaps from the sizes of economies and the levels of industrial development that exist among member nations serve as hindrances to the member states’ ratification of the AfCFTA. Such countries as South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, and Ethiopia that possess a certain level of industrial capacity in the manufacturing would grow more through the agreement; other countries’ national incomes would be eclipsed by these countries with large economies. Thus, the income inequality among nations would grow even larger. Nevertheless, direct, as well as potential, benefits of the agreement would not only offset negative transaction costs but also lay a foundation for future growth in Africa. In order to achieve this, however, there are a number of pre-requisites that have to be resolved, such as the setting of a harmonious relationship between the AfCFTA regime and the existing regional economic communities (REC) in Africa as well as the amicable agreements of the provisions and regulations relating thereto. In addition, it is crucial that the hindrances to the flow of free trade such as the dearth in infrastructure, unfriendly business environment, etc. arising from the fact that most African countries are least developed countries (LDCs) have to be removed.
   Korea’s trade with Africa is inconsequential. However, Africa has always had the attention of Korea’s enterprises as a potential market. The institution of the AfCFTA, the largest economic bloc in the world, is a manifestation of Africa’s potential. Thus, it would not be too early to seek Korea’s strategic approaches to the African market at this point in time. Indeed, the effect of this new FTA on the trade relationship between Korea and Africa should be weighed now, so that adequate market-entry strategies could be sought accordingly.
   Amidst this backdrop, this study weighs the future of the relationship between Korea and the AfCFTA by observing the effects of past establishments of African RECs on the trade between Korea and Africa in general using the Herfindahl-Hershman Index (HHI). An analysis based on the HHI reached an affirmative conclusion that the ACFTA would relieve trade concentration so much so that it would distribute Korea’s trade to many African countries, thereby increasing Korea’s overall trade with Africa. This implies that Korea needs to actively engage in the African market under the AfCFTA regime.
   A caveat needs to be observed at this point, however. Africa is colossal in size and consists of diverse ethnic groups, languages, cultures, norms and the interest of 54 sovereign states that crisscross across the continent. In other words, Africa is not a single market with a single characteristic. With this premise, this study explored the most adequate trade, investment, and industrial strategies for Korea to enter the African market under the AfCFTA.
   As pointed out, Africa is not a single market with one characteristic; there is a mix of countries with different levels of economy, particularly those with manufacturing bases and those without. Thus, this research subdivides the market, selects a base country for each sector from the subdivided markets, and suggests a strategic concept of setting up a “space network” that expands our trade and investment space in these base countries.
   Together with the identification of the base country, for Korea to effectively advance into Africa under the AfCFTA regime, the following four market-entry strategies are proposed:
   (1) Segment the African market to target the middle-class African consumers. That is, by selecting middle-class African consumers first as the market target in order to establish a bridgehead for increase in exports;
   (2) Select fast growing industrial sectors in Africa and enhance exchanges of these sectors between Korea and Africa. It will be necessary to develop diverse policies that can actively engage with the industrial sectors of Africa that are expected to develop fastest as the AfCFTA further evolves;
   (3) Execute the expansion strategy of a roundabout export utilising the base countries. This means that the base countries selected by this study are to be utilised as the bases for the roundabout export of our domestic products; and
   (4) It is necessary to restructure the export strategy of Korean products by utilising the new information on the African region’s geography of economy and trade structure expected to change due to the AfCFTA. After the AfCFTA goes into effect, the increase in trade within the region and the possibility of constructing a regional value chain will be more likely and it is expected that investment in Africa will rise in general. As the AfCFTA is in effect, the most adequate strategy for the Korean firms is the investment expansion strategy centred around the base countries with the “space network” concept as the basis.
   The AfCFTA will be an opportunity for Korean companies to newly perceive the African market as a major export and investment location for diversification of their market. Therefore, support of the following policies is necessary to execute the regional export and investment strategies in Africa with the strategical concept of a space-network expansion:
   (1) The means to act on the regulation of the country of origin is prepared in concert by the industry and the government. The regulation on the country of origin in the AfCFTA regime maximises the benefits on the “made in Africa”; Korea’s export competitiveness in Africa would be lagging behind those competing countries producing locally unless “localisation” is not pursued. Therefore, localisation is absolutely necessary, like establishing an exclusive industrial complex for Korean companies, M&A of the local company, and joint ventures for the means to minimise the risk of the exclusiveness of the AfCFTA. Furthermore, signing the FTA agreements with countries that have influences in each region like South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt to secure base countries for roundabout trade is important. Additionally, the government’s role is urgently needed as to take the lead to prepare measures to minimise the risks and maximise the effects of the AfCFTA on Korean companies amidst the emergence of the AfCFTA;
   (2) A legal basis for supporting trade and investment in Africa must be provided. It is true that in the past Africa has been perceived mainly as a region to aid. Hence, in the face of the rise of a gigantic AfCFTA market, Korea needs to break away from the usual aid argument and newly perceive the change in Africa’s economic geography. Korea needs to realise that anticipative and proactive trade and investment expansion are the best ways to co-operate with African countries. But for this, policy support like the expansion of access to finance for the companies and tax support by the government are necessary. To this end, a legal basis for the policy support of trade and investment in Africa must be in place. This measure would be absolutely necessary in diversifying the export market and for developing a new market in Africa;
   (3) Expand the size of policy-finance. The AfCFTA could become an opportunity for trade and investment in Africa for Korean firms and yet, it could also be a birth to an obstacle in advancement, as the AfCFTA could be an emergence of another exclusive economic zone. Therefore, in order to make the AfCFTA an opportunity for companies to advance to a new market, certain factors for opportunities should be emphasised more and negative effects arising from obstacles should be minimised through policy support from the government. The expansion of policy finance is necessary to resolve the problem of accessibility to finance for companies desiring to mobilise to African countries. One of the most vexing challenges in advancing to Africa is the access to finance. As most of the African countries’ credits are rated below the OECD standards (below B+), it is difficult to access commercial loans as well as the support of policy-finance. In this case, utilising the support of the international finance organisation and governmental finance institutions like the IFC (International Financial Corporation) or AfDB (African Development Bank) would be effective. But to this end, a strategical approach with the investing nation’s policy finance as intermediary is necessary. But in the case of Korean companies, active cooperation with the government’s policy financing institutions or international financing institutions is not yet possible. This is because the current size of the Korean government’s policy finance for Africa is not big enough to be effective and also because the small shares in international finance institutions and little influence do not provide actual aid. Therefore, it is necessary to expand the limit of policy finance, i.e. EDCF or the Special Account of Export-Import Bank of Korea, greatly to increase the chances to the companies and to actively support those companies that desire to advance their business to high risk countries in Africa; and
   (4) For the advancement of diverse domestic companies to Africa, support for the advancement to Africa is encouraged. In particular, for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) that have difficulty accessing information on African markets, combining the provision of customised market information to SMEs with personnel support and tax and financing support are necessary in identifying the “Window of Opportunity” for SMEs. For example, in advancing the ICTs or digital media markets of Africa, the advancement of major SMEs in this type of industry is effective. But, the SMEs inherently find difficulties in accessing information, finance, and markets, and as a result, the government need to complement these areas of inherent difficulties.
 

국문요약 

제1장 서론
1. 연구의 목적과 필요성
2. 연구의 범위, 방법 및 구성
3. 연구의 의의 및 한계

제2장 아프리카 지역경제공동체와 AfCFTA
1. 아프리카 지역경제공동체 현황 및 평가
2. AfCFTA 출범 배경 및 주요 내용
3. AfCFTA의 출범과 순항을 위한 기본 과제 및 전망

제3장 AfCFTA에 따른 아프리카 산업 및 교역구조의 변화와 전망
1. 경제성장 및 빈곤감소
2. 투자환경 개선 및 기업 활동의 활성화
3. 산업 부문별 변화
4. 아프리카 역내 가치사슬의 강화
5. 상품 및 서비스 교역 활성화

제4장 한국의 AfCFTA 활용 방안
1. 아프리카 지역경제공동체와 한국의 교역관계로 본 AfCFTA의 전망
2. 협력 거점국가 선정 및 유망 산업의 도출
3. 한국기업의 아프리카 무역 증대 방안
4. 한국기업의 투자 유망 산업 분석

제5장 결론 및 정책제언

참고문헌

부록