The European Union (EU) and the Republic of Korea (RoK) held the 20^th meeting of the Joint Committee in Seoul on 21 March. It was an opportunity to review progress in areas of bilateral, regional and global cooperation at a time when the world is facing multiple crises.

The EU and the RoK condemned Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which is entering now its third year, and underlined their unwavering support for Ukraine. They also discussed how to address the broader security and economic impact of the war in other regions, including in the Indo-Pacific, stressing the importance of upholding democracy and the rules-based international order. The EU and the RoK reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and urged North Korea to abandon all its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. They called on North Korea to immediately cease all actions that raise military tensions and return to denuclearisation talks. They also reaffirmed that human rights are an essential element in building sustainable peace and security on the Korean peninsula and agreed to continue strengthening cooperation to promote human rights in North Korea. The EU reaffirmed its support for the peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace. The EU reiterated its intention to strengthen its political and security presence in the Indo-Pacific and the two sides stated their willingness to develop a security partnership.

The EU and RoK welcomed the progress made on defining a comprehensive scope for the implementation of the EU-RoK Green Partnership, particularly in the areas of climate, environment, energy, and sustainable transport. The EU and the RoK highlighted the importance of the EU-RoK Green Partnership and looked forward to the implementation in areas such as climate and energy policy, biodiversity, deforestation and circular economy. The EU and the RoK expressed satisfaction with the ongoing work under the Digital Partnership in view of the second meeting of the EU-RoK Digital Partnership Council on 26 March 2024. They highlighted the progress in implementing concrete deliverables in semiconductors, moving beyond 5G/6G, HPC-Quantum technologies, Artificial Intelligence and online platform cooperation. On cyber, they highlighted the importance to resume the EU-RoK Cyber Policy Consultations. On research and innovation, they welcomed the progress made on RoK’s possible association to the EU’s Horizon Europe programme. They also discussed further deepening cooperation across transport modes. The RoK and the EU looked forward to continuing cooperation in responding to health emergencies and strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness and response at multilateral level through the finalisation of negotiations on a new Pandemic Agreement and the International Health Regulations.

On trade and investment matters, they confirmed that the EU-RoK Free Trade Agreement delivers well and has led to a substantial increase in bilateral trade to the benefit of both sides. Progress was noted with regard to the implementation of the agreement by both sides, including in the areas of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and trade for sustainable development, whilst also some remaining issues were discussed. They welcomed the launch of negotiations for a Digital Trade Agreement that will complement the Free Trade Agreement and looked forward to reaching a mutually satisfactory outcome. They expressed an interest in continuing exchanges on matters pertaining to economic security.

On global challenges, the partners confirmed their strong commitment to multilateralism, as well as their wish to enhance cooperation in international fora. They looked forward to continuing close cooperation in the G20, while strengthening the partnership between the RoK and the G7. They re-affirmed their commitment to continue working on WTO reform, and shared the priority of restoring a fully functioning dispute settlement system. The EU and RoK looked forward to cooperation on the topic of critical raw materials in the context of the MSP and its recently established Forum. They looked with satisfaction at their cooperation in UN human rights forums and discussed respective priorities for this year. The EU and RoK also explored concrete cooperation under the framework of their respective Indo-Pacific Strategies and the Global Gateway, focusing on green, digital, connectivity and security, and following up to the EU-RoK Development Dialogue of 20 March in Seoul.

The EU delegation was led by Niclas Kvarnström, Managing Director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the European External Action Service. The Delegation of the Republic of Korea was led by Kim Hee-sang, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The next EU-Republic of Korea Joint Committee will take place in 2025 in Brussels.