By Yi Whan-woo
The free trade agreement (FTA) followed by expanded trade and investment is the most notable progress the European Union (EU) and South Korea have made in their 10-year strategic partnership, according to a survey released this month.
Conducted by the Korea Foundation (KF)-VUB Korea Chair, the first academic research institution in Europe specializing in issues related to the Korean Peninsula, the survey of 12 experts on the peninsula and Northeast Asia also showed the progress on non-proliferation and other North Korea-related issues that have been heavily debated ― either as a success or a failure ― during the past decade.
Asked about the next 10 years of cooperation, the experts viewed the two sides should prioritize cybersecurity and public health, among others.
Launched in 2017, the KF-VUB Korea Chair was jointly set up by the KF, the public diplomacy arm of the Korean government, and Brussels-based university VUB and the Institute for European Studies.
The survey was to mark the 10th anniversary of the EU-South Korea strategic partnership aimed at improving relations between the two parties.
The 12 experts were from universities and other academic institutions across Europe, such as Germany, Poland, Romania and Sweden. They were allowed to come up with more than one answer for each question.
The respondents unanimously answered EU-South Korea relations progressed the most in their FTA, trade and investment.
For other important issues, six of them picked political dialogue, five selected North Korea-related issues including non-proliferation, another five for people-to-people exchanges and four for shared global agenda and multilateralism.
"The FTA is surely one of the biggest successes, despite still some outstanding issues such as beef and the sustainable development chapter," said Tereza Novotna, a respondent who is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellow at Free University Berlin and also a senior associate research fellow at EUROPEUM Prague.
Another survey taker, Andreea Zaharia from the Romanian Institute for the Study of the Asia-Pacific, pointed out exports of goods from EU to South Korea increased by 43 percent from 2010 to 2018 and services by 79 percent from 2010 to 2016.
Asked about the area in which EU-South Korea relations have failed the most to make sufficient progress, six picked North Korea-related issues, four on security cooperation, two on people-to-people exchanges, one on climate change, and another one on the implementation of Chapter 13 on trade and sustainable development as stipulated in the FTA.
Marco Milani, an assistant professor at the University of Bologna, explained in his answer on North Korea that despite cooperation and coordination regarding sanctions, "there is ample room for the EU and the Republic of Korea to not only cooperate on but also to take a leading role in, to enhance engagement and multilateralism."
On the next 10 years of relations, 10 respondents found the two should prioritize security cooperation, eight climate change, seven scientific and technological cooperation, five dialogue and multilateralism, three people-to-people exchanges including public diplomacy and two an upgrade of the FTA.
The free trade agreement (FTA) followed by expanded trade and investment is the most notable progress the European Union (EU) and South Korea have made in their 10-year strategic partnership, according to a survey released this month.
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| Korea Foundation (KF)-VUB Korea Chair logo |
Asked about the next 10 years of cooperation, the experts viewed the two sides should prioritize cybersecurity and public health, among others.
Launched in 2017, the KF-VUB Korea Chair was jointly set up by the KF, the public diplomacy arm of the Korean government, and Brussels-based university VUB and the Institute for European Studies.
The survey was to mark the 10th anniversary of the EU-South Korea strategic partnership aimed at improving relations between the two parties.
The 12 experts were from universities and other academic institutions across Europe, such as Germany, Poland, Romania and Sweden. They were allowed to come up with more than one answer for each question.
The respondents unanimously answered EU-South Korea relations progressed the most in their FTA, trade and investment.
For other important issues, six of them picked political dialogue, five selected North Korea-related issues including non-proliferation, another five for people-to-people exchanges and four for shared global agenda and multilateralism.
"The FTA is surely one of the biggest successes, despite still some outstanding issues such as beef and the sustainable development chapter," said Tereza Novotna, a respondent who is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie fellow at Free University Berlin and also a senior associate research fellow at EUROPEUM Prague.
Another survey taker, Andreea Zaharia from the Romanian Institute for the Study of the Asia-Pacific, pointed out exports of goods from EU to South Korea increased by 43 percent from 2010 to 2018 and services by 79 percent from 2010 to 2016.
Asked about the area in which EU-South Korea relations have failed the most to make sufficient progress, six picked North Korea-related issues, four on security cooperation, two on people-to-people exchanges, one on climate change, and another one on the implementation of Chapter 13 on trade and sustainable development as stipulated in the FTA.
Marco Milani, an assistant professor at the University of Bologna, explained in his answer on North Korea that despite cooperation and coordination regarding sanctions, "there is ample room for the EU and the Republic of Korea to not only cooperate on but also to take a leading role in, to enhance engagement and multilateralism."
On the next 10 years of relations, 10 respondents found the two should prioritize security cooperation, eight climate change, seven scientific and technological cooperation, five dialogue and multilateralism, three people-to-people exchanges including public diplomacy and two an upgrade of the FTA.
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