InterviewKorea, Poland deepen strategic partnership beyond defense

Polish Ambassador to Korea Bartosz Wisniewski speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Polish Embassy in Seoul, Feb. 3. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Poland and Korea’s rapidly expanding relationship rests on years of accumulated trust, economic integration and cultural exchange that go far beyond headline-grabbing defense deals, Poland’s ambassador to Korea said in an interview with The Korea Times.

Bartosz Wisniewski said the two countries, formally designated strategic partners in 2013, are now “reaping the benefits of decisions made many years ago,” pointing to long-term investments in connectivity, business and cultural cooperation that have steadily drawn the two societies closer.

“Strategic partnership is written into documents, but it is also a continuum of decisions,” Wisniewski said during the interview at the Polish Embassy in Seoul. “What we are seeing today did not happen overnight.”

One early milestone was the launch of direct flights between Warsaw and Seoul’s Incheon airport in 2016, a link Wisniewski described as transformative for trade, tourism and people-to-people ties. The route operated by Poland's national carrier is marking its 10th anniversary this year.

“Despite the geographical distance, logistics have brought us closer,” he said.

Another foundation was cultural diplomacy. Poland held its first large-scale Polish cultural promotion in Korea in 2012, followed by sustained cooperation between cultural institutions in both countries.

“Today we are seeing the cumulative effect of those choices,” Wisniewski said.

An LG Energy Solution factory in Poland / Courtesy of LG Energy Solution

Economic ties broaden and deepen

While defense cooperation has dominated recent headlines, Wisniewski emphasized that the relationship has become deeply embedded in Poland’s economy. More than 700 Korean companies operate in Poland, making Korea the country’s largest Asian investor, he said.

“With these companies came Korean businesspeople, families and communities,” he said. “This relationship is now part of the fabric of the Polish economy.”

Bilateral trade has surpassed $10 billion annually, Wisniewski said, calling the figure “remarkable” given the distance between the two countries, even as he acknowledged the imbalance in Korea’s favor.

Poland’s appeal to Korean investors lies in its market size, location and access to the European Union’s single market of more than 500 million consumers, he said. Poland, with a population of about 40 million, has grown steadily for more than three decades and now ranks among the world’s 20 largest economies by gross domestic product, according to the International Monetary Fund.

“We were not hit by the global financial crisis in the way many countries were,” Wisniewski said, adding that Poland also avoided the worst effects of Asia’s late-1990s financial crisis. “That long-term stability matters to investors.”

He also highlighted Poland’s ability to absorb EU structural funds since joining the bloc in 2004, pointing to visible investments in infrastructure and environmental projects across the country.

Two K2 tanks destined for export to Poland conduct a mobility demonstration at a test track inside Hyundai Rotem’s plant in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. Courtesy of Hyundai Rotem

Defense cooperation

Poland’s defense partnership with Korea, which expanded rapidly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is built on trust established years earlier, Wisniewski said.

The first major defense contract between Polish and Korean companies was signed in 2014, launching industrial cooperation that later enabled larger deals in 2021 and 2022, he said.

“Trust takes a long time to build and can be lost very quickly,” he said. “Korean companies proved themselves to be diligent, credible and technologically advanced.”

Poland is undertaking an ambitious defense modernization program, replacing aging Soviet-era systems and replenishing stocks depleted by military aid sent to Ukraine.

“Our security environment is not what it used to be,” Wisniewski said.

Asked about Poland’s recent decision to select a Swedish bidder over a Korean firm for a submarine contract, Wisniewski stressed that the outcome did not reflect negatively on Korean shipbuilding.

“Korean shipbuilding is among the most advanced in the world,” he said. “In this particular case, the evaluation showed that another offer was better suited to the operational requirements of the Baltic Sea.”

He said the strength of bilateral defense ties means that “one contract does not decide anything.”

Looking ahead, Wisniewski said Poland wants to move beyond procurement toward greater technology transfer and localized production, following a path similar to Korea’s own industrial development.

“We want to move up the value chain,” he said, citing Poland’s skilled workforce, stable regulatory environment and access to financing. “Joint manufacturing and joint marketing of systems is a natural next step.”

Beyond defense and batteries — Poland accounts for about 60 percent of lithium-ion battery production in Europe, largely due to Korean investment — Wisniewski identified several emerging areas for cooperation.

These include artificial intelligence, semiconductors, fintech, space technology and specialized defense components. Korea already has a strong footprint in Poland through companies such as Samsung, SK and LG Energy Solution, he said.

“Most major Korean conglomerates already have a foothold,” he said.

Wisniewski said his medium-term goal is to help rebalance trade by expanding Polish agricultural exports to Korea, including beef, poultry and pork.

“Opening the market is not an obligation to buy,” he said. “It is about giving consumers choice.”

Negotiations have already yielded progress in poultry and pork, he said, adding that talks on beef continue.

Shared security concerns

Wisniewski said Poland and Korea face increasingly interconnected security challenges, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and North Korea’s involvement in supporting Moscow’s war effort.

“These developments are of grave concern both in Seoul and Warsaw,” he said, noting ongoing consultations between the two countries’ foreign and defense ministries.

Poland has maintained a presence on the Korean Peninsula since the 1953 armistice, he added, underscoring its long-standing engagement in regional security.

In early February, the two countries launched a new strategic dialogue between deputy foreign ministers in Warsaw, a format Wisniewski said would lead to more frequent security consultations.

Culture, education and soft power

Cultural exchange remains a powerful driver of bilateral ties, Wisniewski said, highlighting music, literature and video games.

He cited the success of Korean pianists performing works by Polish composer Frederic Chopin, as well as growing interest in Korean literature in Poland, including works by Nobel laureate Han Kang. Polish Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk’s novels are also being translated into Korean, he noted.

In gaming, Wisniewski pointed to the popularity in Korea of The Witcher, developed by Polish studio CD Projekt and based on novels by Andrzej Sapkowski.

“The gaming industry is central to Korea’s content sector, so this is a meaningful connection,” he said, noting that CD Projekt operates an office in Seoul.