South Korea ’ s exports to India expanded by 43 %, while imports from the country increased by 37 %, posting the largest amount of trades ( $ 17 . 1 billion ) for the past one year after the two countries ’ Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement ( CEPA ) came into effect in last January . The CEPA plays the same role as a free trade agreement ( FTA ) , but it additionally includes reinforcement of economic partnership between the two countries , not only trades of goods but also trades of services and investments . According to Korea Customs Service on Tuesday , the country ’ s exports to India registered $ 11 . 4 billion last year , growing by 43 % from $ 8 billion in 2009 . The growth is 14 % points higher than the country ’ s total export growth of 28 . 3 % ( from $ 363 . 5 billion to $ 466 . 4 billion ) , suggesting that the CEPA is playing a significant role in boosting exports . Imports from India recorded $ 5 . 7 billion last year , growing by 37 % ( $ 1 . 6 billion ) from $ 4 . 1 billion in 2009 . The growth hovered above 31 . 6 %, Korea ’ s total import growth ( from $ 323 . 1 billion to $ 425 . 2 billion ) , during the same period . As a result , the entire trade volume between Korea and India posted a record high of $ 17 . 1 billion last year , reaching $ 5 . 7 billion in the trade balance . [ Written by Su - hyun Song / edited by Soyoung Chung ]