Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
INTERVIEW Korea, EU expand research alliance amid tech race, geopolitical shifts
European Union Ambassador to Korea Ugo Astuto speaks during a one-on-one interview with The Korea Times at the the EU Delegation to the Republic of Korea in Seoul, May 4. Courtesy of EU Delegation to the Republic of Korea
By Anna J. Park
EU ambassador highlights collaboration in AI, semiconductors, quantum technology
Korea and the European Union are deepening cooperation in innovation, research and advanced technologies, with expanding academic and industrial exchanges emerging as a central pillar of bilateral relations, according to EU Ambassador to Korea Ugo Astuto.
In an interview with The Korea Times ahead of Europe Day — which falls on May 9 and marks the anniversary of the 1950 Schuman Declaration, the founding proposal that set the EU's integration in motion — Astuto said research and innovation partnerships are becoming increasingly important to Korea-EU ties as both sides navigate mounting geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain vulnerabilities and intensifying competition over critical and emerging technologies.
“We want to advance cooperation on emerging digital technologies to unlock mutual benefits for their economies, strengthening cooperation to boost competitiveness, innovation and resilience,” Astuto said.
“The EU and the ROK (Republic of Korea) will continue joint work on research and innovation on emerging technologies, such as semiconductors, 6G, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technologies.”
The ambassador placed particular emphasis on Korea’s participation in Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation program, describing it as one of the most significant recent developments in bilateral cooperation. Korea became associated with Pillar II — Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness — of Horizon Europe in July 2025.
“Korea joined as the first Asian country with the status of full associate member the EU flagship program on Research and Innovation Horizon program,” the ambassador said. “I think it's extremely important as we can work together on issues such as artificial intelligence and all aspects of artificial intelligence and quantum computing.”
This graphic shows Horizon Europe, EU's key funding program for research and innovation. Courtesy of European Platform of Women Scientists
Astuto noted that Korea-EU cooperation is increasingly expanding beyond traditional academic exchanges into broader industrial and startup ecosystems.
“We are already on track in the sense that the research cooperation is pretty advanced between university labs and academia on the two sides,” he said. “That's why we are going to have a visit next month of a group of mostly European startup companies dealing with artificial intelligence.”
According to Astuto, the delegation will visit Korea under the framework of the European Innovation Council to explore cooperation opportunities with Korea’s rapidly growing AI ecosystem.
“It's in the framework of the European Innovation Council, so they are coming here to see and learn from the Korean ecosystem on artificial intelligence,” he said.
Astuto added that Korea and the EU possess complementary strengths in cutting-edge technologies, particularly in AI and quantum computing, making deeper cooperation increasingly necessary.
“It's important we share best practices and we work together for the prosperity of our respective communities,” he said.
Beyond research and innovation, Astuto identified economic security and supply chain resilience as two other major priorities in Korea-EU cooperation amid growing geopolitical tensions and intensifying technological competition.
“This cooperation is designed to boost future competitiveness and technological leadership while building stronger economic security through greater resilience in critical technologies,” he said. “We want to foster innovation in a framework that is compatible with our democratic values, respecting individual rights and freedoms.”
European Union Ambassador to Korea Ugo Astuto speaks during a one-on-one interview with The Korea Times at the the EU Delegation to the Republic of Korea in Seoul, May 4. Courtesy of EU Delegation to the Republic of Korea
The ambassador also stressed the growing importance of security and defense cooperation, noting that developments in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are becoming increasingly interconnected.
“Security in the Indo Pacific and security in Europe are interconnected,” he said, describing the growing military ties between Russia and North Korea as “a very concerning development.”
Against this backdrop, Astuto said the Korea-EU Security and Defense Partnership, signed in late 2024, provides a new framework for cooperation in maritime security, cyber threats and hybrid warfare.
“It gives us a political framework to work together on security … not only hard security but also cyber security and maritime security,” he said, adding that Europe could learn from Seoul’s long-standing experience in responding to cyberattacks from North Korea.
On green and digital cooperation, the ambassador said climate policy, industrial competitiveness and geopolitical security are increasingly intertwined.
“The perils of critical dependencies and vulnerable energy, technology and industrial supply chains are compounded by the existential threats of accelerating climate change and environmental degradation. The case of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and now the crisis in Hormuz are clear evidence of the need to address and mitigate our dependencies," he said.
"Climate and sustainability are important in their own right but also in support of global supply chains. So, our guiding principles are that sustainability goals and business should go hand in hand." he pointed out.
Finally, the ambassador, who has served in Korea since September last year, said he hopes to further strengthen bilateral relations during his tenure in Seoul.
“I will bring my contribution to foster this ever expanding strategic partnership, grounded in common values and converging interests,” he said.