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View all search resultsSouth Korea seeks closer ASEAN ties with revived New Southern Policy
The digital economy, including the development of artificial intelligence and cooperation to bolster the fight against transnational crimes surrounding online scams, is among the sectors to be prioritized in the expansion of cooperation between South Korea and Southeast Asian nations.
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South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung (center) and Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (left) speak with Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (center right) on Oct. 27 during the 26th ASEAN - South Korea Summit at the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (AFP/Pool/Hasnoor Hussain)
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outh Korea is preparing to expand its engagement with ASEAN, as the administration of President Lee Jae-myung pushes a more ambitious and “future-focused” New Southern Policy amid growing global geopolitical and economic uncertainties.
Speaking in an exclusive media briefing on Nov. 13 with visitors from 10 ASEAN member states, South Korean Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Eui-hea Cecilia Chung reiterated President Lee’s administration’s “unwavering, stronger than ever” commitment to the bloc.
Chung, who assumed her post a week before the briefing, noted that the new administration aims to deepen and expand cooperation with ASEAN, building on the foundations of the past administration’s New Southern Policy (NSP), which expanded South Korea’s engagement across Southeast Asia.
First introduced during former president Moon Jae-in’s presidency, the NSP elevated South Korea’s relations with ASEAN to a level like that of major powers. Through the strategy, the East Asian country aims to form solidarity among Asian middle powers as an approach to cope with the United States-China geopolitical competition.
The policy was replaced with a new Indo-Pacific strategy during the administration of former president Yoon Suk-yeol, Moon’s successor. But Chung reasserted the NSP “is never dead”, as Lee’s administration intends to bring back its best elements and expand them to meet today’s challenges.
“This administration has strong ties with the architects of the NSP,” she said. “There is a commitment to really go back and bring back the very good elements and the structure that we had in the NSP and continue to build on that.”
Read also: ASEAN ‘benches’ in Jeju celebrate bloc’s ties with South Korea
