Korea on Point: Neither Eastern Europe nor North Korea but the Indo-Pacific is the Future: The Prospects and Challenges for EU-Korea Relations under the Yoon Ad

Tereza Novotná, an associate research fellow at our Institute, wrote an article for Korea on Time, where she argues, that from a security perspective, the EU-South Korea partnership has been marked by three key topics: the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, North Korea, and US-China strategic competition. It would be a smart choice for Yoon’s team to continue and expand on the New Southern Policy rather than trying to come up with a new framework. In the end, it will be neither Eastern Europe nor North Korea but the Indo-Pacific which will hold the key to the future of the EU-Korea partnership.

Just as President Yoon Suk-yeol has touched down in Europe to join the NATO summit in Madrid, all eyes have been on his upcoming trilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida and US President Biden. Yet not only is he the first South Korean President to join a NATO gathering, but it is also President Yoon’s first trip to Europe as the new head of state since his election on May 10th. 

What can we expect from his visit to Europe and, in fact, from the EU-South Korea relations under Yoon’s Presidency? Looking at the tense security situation across the world, what prospects – and challenges – may the two like-minded partners face in the next five years?

Read the full article here.

Tereza Novotná
Senior Associate Research Fellow

Expertise: EU foreign policy, North and South Korea and NE Asia; European External Action Service, EU Delegations; transatlantic relations and trade; EU enlargement and EU institutions; Germany (foreign and domestic politics, particularly in the Eastern parts of Germany).