South Korean President Moon Jae-in has fulfilled his pledge to visit all 10 Asean countries, and the six-day trip to Thailand, Myanmar and Laos this week demonstrated again his commitment to his signature New Southern Policy, which is aimed at upgrading ties with the regional bloc. Mr Shawn Ho, associate research fellow at RSIS noted that Asean, with its 600-million population and emerging middle class, is a very important market for South Korea’s consumer products.