European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung gathered in Brussels on Wednesday for the 11th EU-South Korea summit. The centrepiece of the meeting was the signing of a Digital Trade Agreement, designed to reduce barriers in cross-border digital commerce and provide legal certainty for businesses operating in both markets.
“Korea is one of Europe’s closest partners in the Indo-Pacific region and on the global stage,” von der Leyen said. “In today’s uncertain world, stable and trusted partnerships like ours are more precious than ever.” The joint statement issued after the talks reaffirmed a shared commitment to “effective multilateralism” and a “stable and predictable rules-based free and fair economic order.”
Trade and Semiconductors
The digital trade pact builds on a free trade agreement that has been in force since 2011. According to European Commission figures, goods trade between the EU and South Korea reached approximately €124.25 billion in 2025, doubling since 2015. Costa described the existing free trade deal as “one of the European Union’s most successful trade agreements.”
South Korea has become a significant investor in Europe, particularly in batteries, electric vehicles, and semiconductors. For Brussels, securing semiconductor supply chains is a key objective. “Korea has a global leadership position in semiconductors,” an EU official noted. “This is clearly an area with significant potential for cooperation that would benefit both sides.” The digital trade agreement facilitates cross-border data flows while prohibiting mandatory transfer of source code and establishing robust online consumer protection rules, though both sides maintain their existing personal data and privacy safeguards.
Economic security was high on the agenda. The two sides agreed to create a high-level dialogue on supply chain resilience, a topic that gained urgency after China imposed export restrictions on rare earths and materials critical for green technologies, defence, and chip manufacturing. For more on the broader context of EU defence spending, see EU Defence Chief: Replacing US Military Assets Will Cost Europeans €500bn.
Security and Defence Cooperation
While the summit produced a new trade agreement, a security of information pact that EU officials had hoped to finalise remained unsigned. Such an agreement would allow the secure exchange of classified intelligence between Brussels and Seoul, enabling deeper industrial and research collaboration. “I hope that the security of information agreement will be adopted soon, so that Korea and the EU can share confidential information safely,” President Lee said.
The two sides already have a Security and Defence Partnership agreement, signed in 2024, covering maritime security, countering hybrid threats, and fighting foreign information manipulation. Discussions at the summit also touched on nuclear non-proliferation, given North Korea’s small but concerning stockpile of nuclear warheads. A senior EU official described North Korea and Russia as “big questions” at the talks, with Brussels sharing information on its support for Ukraine with Seoul. The joint statement condemned North Korea and other nations that enable Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. For more on the shifting geopolitical landscape, see Xi Jinping's Pyongyang Visit Aims to Reassert Chinese Influence as North Korea Tilts Toward Russia.
The summit underscored how the EU and South Korea are deepening ties in an era of heightened geopolitical competition. As both sides seek to diversify trade relationships amid tensions with China and the United States, the digital trade agreement and the planned supply chain dialogue represent concrete steps toward greater strategic autonomy. For a deeper look at the summit’s implications, see EU-South Korea Summit: Digital Trade, Defence, and the Geopolitics of Microchips.
