South Korea’s relations with the United States and China are closely observed, but what about Korea’s ties with the world’s third economic superpower, the European Union?  Their diplomatic relationship began in 1963 and now constitutes a Strategic Partnership. South Korea is the only country in Asia that is connected to the EU by a Free Trade Agreement, Political Framework Agreement, and Crisis Management Participation Agreement. With the release of the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy in 2022, and with the Yoon Administration’s ambitions to make Korea a Global Pivotal State, communications between Seoul and Brussels are intensifying. 

Please join KEI for a discussion of Korea-EU relations with KIEP President Kim Heungchong, who is also President of the European Union Studies Association of Korea, and KEI Vice President Mark Tokola, who served on the EU Desk at the State Department and for eight years at the U.S. Mission to the European Union in Brussels.