[A Geopolitical EU in Northeast Asia] EU-South Korea: The partnership reaches new heights

EU-South Korea: The partnership reaches new heights

Ramon Pacheco Pardo [Professor, King’s College London]

► The June 2023 joint statement issued by the EU and South Korea following from their bilateral summit symbolised where their relationship stands today: a comprehensive partnership covering all aspects of economics, politics, and security. From the perspective of the EU and its member states, South Korea and Japan are the top partners in Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

► And the relationship is only going to strengthen as the EU and South Korea face common challenges such as navigating US-China competition, responding to China’s aggressiveness and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, trying to salvage some aspects of the multilateralism that has served both of them so well or boosting ties with increasingly more important countries from the so-called ‘Global South’.

► Anchored by the new bilateral strategic dialogue launched earlier this year, the geopolitical EU is prioritising cooperation with South Korea as a partner not only in the Indo-Pacific region but also in Europe itself and globally

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