In October 2015，the negotiating parties of the Trans-Pacific Partnership（TPP）reached a preliminary agreement，which added fuel to the heated debate on the accession to TPP in Korea. The recognition that “the loss of non-accession is bigger than the benefit of accession” has become a basic domestic consensus in Korea，however there are still two camps，namely “early accession” vs. “prudent accession”，in terms of the pace and pattern of the accession. After establishing FTAs with nearly all the major trading partners，Korea is now facing a new and higher level of challenge in its trade strategy. Joining the TPP will certainly help to accelerate the completion of Korea’s FTA strategy，and therefore is significant to its strategic aim of being a linchpin in the regional integration and a “global trading state”. But due to the election cycle，the industry impact，the regulatory reform，the preparation for negotiations and other factors，Seoul will probably still pursue a option of caution and prudence.