Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Minister JK (Jung-Kwan) Kim of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) met with Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission, on Thursday, November 27, 2025, in Seoul, to discuss ways to deepen strategic cooperation in advanced industries and technologies, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), future mobility, batteries, and supply chains.

The meeting was held during Executive Vice-President Virkkunen’s visit to Korea. As the official responsible for the EU’s key priorities—including technological sovereignty, security, and digital transformation—she and Minister Kim underscored the need for joint responses and cooperation amid rising protectionism, supply chain disruptions, and other rapidly changing global economic conditions.

The two sides recognized the long-standing strategic partnership between Korea and the EU in the economic and technological fields and agreed to elevate cooperation into a future-oriented partnership encompassing economic security and advanced industries.

They highlighted that Korea and the EU have complementary industrial structures in semiconductors—Korea in memory manufacturing and the EU in automotive semiconductors and advanced equipment—and agreed to work closely to ensure supply chain stability amid heightened global uncertainties.

The two sides also discussed concrete cooperation measures in future-growth industries such as AI, future mobility, and batteries.

On AI, Korea shared its plan to develop a Korean version of the Manufacturing-X platform, benchmarking the EU’s industrial data platform of the same name, and proposed cooperation to enhance interoperability in data linkage and utilization. Korea also emphasized the importance of international standardization for accelerating AI adoption across industries and invited the EU to participate actively in the International AI Standards Summit to be held in Seoul in December 2025.
Regarding future mobility, both sides agreed to broaden cooperation in EV transition, charging-infrastructure expansion, and autonomous driving communication and data systems to support carbon neutrality goals and climate crisis response.

On batteries, Korea explained that domestic companies are strengthening the EU’s advanced battery production capacity and supply chains through investments in the region. Korea requested EU-level interest and support to help expand demand for EU-produced batteries.

Korea also conveyed industry concerns about delays in follow-up legislation under the Battery Regulation, asking the EU to consider fairness and consistency with other related policies during the legislative process.

Both sides reaffirmed the progress achieved through multilateral platforms such as Eureka and agreed to further strengthen cooperation in advanced technologies and supply chain partnerships. Korea—which became Eureka’s first non-European member in 2009—has actively pursued cooperation with Europe in ICT, machinery and materials, and biotechnology, and was elected to the Board in 2023.

Korea also raised concerns regarding the Czech nuclear FSR investigation and the EU’s proposed steel import restriction measures, requesting constructive resolution.

MOTIR stated that this meeting with the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission served as an opportunity to strengthen Korea–EU cooperation in semiconductors, AI, future mobility, and other advanced industries, while enhancing supply chain stability. MOTIR added that it will activate high-level consultation channels following this meeting and develop the discussed agenda into concrete cooperation projects.