Korea, EU strengthen green, digital and health partnerships

Diplomacy

Published: 22 May. 2023, 19:52

Korea, EU strengthen green, digital and health partnerships

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, European Council President Charles Michel, left, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, right, pose for a commemorative photo ahead of the Korea-EU summit at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The leaders of Korea and the European Union (EU) agreed to strengthen partnerships to tackle challenges related to green transition, to better respond to global health crises and to advance digital cooperation in a bilateral summit on Monday.

"Korea and the EU are important cooperative partners sharing the universal values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, and over the past 60 years, cooperation has developed in all areas, including politics, economy and the global agenda," President Yoon Suk Yeol said at a joint press conference at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul. "We had in-depth discussions on future-oriented cooperation between the two countries and response to global challenges."

Yoon held a summit with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a continuation of a flurry of diplomatic events this month, including the Group of 7 (G7) Summit in Hiroshima over the weekend.

"The Republic of Korea is most definitely one of our oldest and closest partners, one we trust and we count on," said von der Leyen.

She went on to "condemn" North Korea's "constant nuclear saber-rattling" and Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine.

Drawing on her experience as a German citizen, living in a divided country, she said, "The future will ultimately bring peaceful unification, because the longing for freedom is ultimately always stronger than the power of any dictator."

"Today, we took another step to strengthen our strategic partnership by focusing on important regional and global challenges," Michel said.

This is the first time both EU leaders visited Korea together since 2012, arriving in Seoul on Sunday following the G7 Summit in Japan. This marked the tenth summit between the Korean and EU leaders and the first in-person one since 2018.

Korea and the European Union are marking the 60th anniversary of bilateral ties dating back to the EU's predecessor, the European Community. The bilateral relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2010.

They also agreed to continue consultations on the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism, aimed at reducing companies' carbon emissions, and the critical raw materials act, intended to stabilize the supply chains of raw materials so that they do not "impose any restrictions on bilateral economic cooperation," Yoon said.

The EU is Korea's third largest trading partner and a leading investor in Korea, Yoon highlighted during the summit.

In the first Korea-EU joint statement in eight years, the leaders focused on cooperation toward peace and security, greater prosperity and sustainable development.

Korea and the EU newly launched a green partnership to tackle climate change and a green transition. The digital partnership will strengthen collaboration on semiconductors, next-generation mobile networks, quantum and high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and online and digital platforms regulations. The health emergency preparedness and response arrangement advances cooperation for the effective management of cross-border health problems.

The two sides agreed to strengthen the global competitiveness of semiconductor industries in the EU and Korea by developing a common mechanism for the security and resilience of the semiconductor supply chain and committed to conducting collaborative research and development in the field of cutting-edge semiconductors.

The leaders further "strongly condemned" North Korea's repeated illegal ballistic missile launches and its ongoing nuclear development, calling for its denuclearization in a "complete, verifiable and irreversible manner." They also expressed "grave concern over violations and abuses of human rights" in North Korea.

Michel and von der Leyen expressed support for the objectives of South Korea's so-called "Audacious Initiative" for a denuclearized, peaceful and prosperous Korean Peninsula.

The Korean and EU leaders further stressed the "importance of preserving peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" and opposed "unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific," without naming China.

They also expressed their "resolute condemnation of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine," and called on Moscow to "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders."

They discussed ways of increasing support for Ukraine to "meet financial, material, security and humanitarian needs."

On Sunday, Yoon held his first bilateral summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 gathering and promised that Korea will work to swiftly provide humanitarian supplies needed by Ukraine, such as demining equipment and ambulances.

"Speaking of non-lethal weapons, President Zelensky gave us some lists today, which we will carefully review," Yoon said Sunday in a joint press conference with German's chancellor regarding Korea's provision of further aid to Ukraine.

Yoon and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a bilateral summit in Seoul earlier that day agreed to sign a military secrets pact to help strengthen supply chains in the defense industry.

"We will establish a Korea-Germany military secret protection agreement as soon as possible and work together for the smooth operation of supply chains in the defense industry," Yoon said in the press conference with Scholz.

The two leaders also agreed to expand the strong trade and investment relationship to high-tech industries, such as hydrogen, semiconductors, bio and clean energy, Yoon added, and cooperate in areas including climate change and North Korean denuclearization.

Korea agreed to join the "Climate Club," a German-led initiative established by G7 countries last December in pursuit of more ambitious climate goals, he said.

Scholz in turn recalled that Germany is also a country that has overcome division and shared his "deep solidarity" with South Korea and supported its efforts toward an "irreversible and verifiable denuclearization of North Korea."

He highlighted Germany's plans to cooperate with South Korea in the renewable energy sector, especially in the fields of electric vehicles, battery production and semiconductors.

Scholz was on a day trip to Korea on the heels of the G7 Summit in Japan, becoming the first German chancellor to visit Seoul in 30 years, after Helmut Kohl last visited the country in March 1993.

The two leaders were joined by their first ladies in a dinner event.

Earlier Sunday afternoon, Scholz, accompanied by Germany's first lady Britta Ernst, made his first visit to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and urged North Korea to stop carrying out nuclear and ballistic missile tests, calling them a "threat to peace and security in the region."

The two countries mark the 140th anniversary of bilateral ties this year and 60 years since Korean miners and nurses were dispatched to Germany.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shake hands during their bilateral summit at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on Sunday evening. Both leaders attended the G7 Summit in Hiroshima that weekend. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]