The making of South Korea's COVID-19 test success. IES Policy Brief Issue 2020/04 - April 2020

At least 120 countries have asked South Korea for COVID-19 test kits and other materials to fight against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. South Korean biotech firms are shipping the kits everywhere from Europe and the United States to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The secret to South Korea’s test development and manufacturing success lies in Daejeon. This city is home to Daedeok Innopolis, South Korea’s main R&D cluster, including for biotech. Developed since the 1990s, South Korea’s biotech industry is a textbook case of the country’s industrial policy. It is based on two pillars: public-private cooperation and continuity across administrations. This is what Daedeok Innopolis and South Korea’s COVID-19 test success embody

China, the US and ADMM-Plus: Towards confidence building in Southeast Asia?

The year 2010 has been portrayed as a negative one for the Sino-American relationship. Differences over issues such as the yuan’s exchange rate, how to deal with the North Korean nuclear issue or respect for human rights are said to have weakened bilateral relations and shown the discrepancy between Beijing’s and Washington’s values and policies. Yet, 2010 was not a lost year. Unnoticed to many, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and China Minister for National Defence Liang Guanglie attended the first-ever ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). Bringing together the ministers of defence of all ASEAN member states and eight of the association’s dialogue partners, this forum is poised to become a key driver of confidence building in Southeast Asia, including, crucially, the South China Sea. The fact that the US and China agreed to dispatch Gates and Liang to the meeting despite bilateral relations allegedly being at a low point demonstrates the importance that both countries confer to it. This can only have a positive effect on regional security

KF-VUB Korea Chair Policy Brief 2: From Pyeongchang to Pyongyang. Institute for European Studies Issue 2018/02

The Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games have already served one very important purpose: helping to thaw inter-Korean relations. Since engagement is a key element of President Moon Jae-in’s North Korea policy, it is highly likely that Seoul will continue to seek exchanges with Pyongyang. It is thus up to the Kim Jong-un regime to accept Seoul’s olive branch and contribute to improving inter-Korean relations. With Pyongyang continuing to support – or at least accept – domestic economic reform and marketization, economic and technical support from Seoul is crucial. Indeed, the goodwill that most South Koreans still seem to hold towards their poorer Northern neighbour and the funding that South Korea can provide cannot be matched by any other country. For Seoul, engagement can serve to ease inter-Korean tensions, make it ever-more difficult for Pyongyang to reverse reforms, and put South Korea in the driving seat of Korean Peninsula affairs

KF-VUB Korea Chair Policy Brief 7- Foreign Policy Looks South: Seoul’s ‘New Southern Policy.' Institute for European Studies Issue 2018/07

South Korean President Moon Jae-in is in the middle of a trip to India and Singapore. This visits fits within Seoul’s ‘New Southern Policy’, an effort by the Moon government to strengthen economic and diplomatic links with ASEAN and India. On the economic front, President Moon seeks to increase trade and investment between South Korea and its southern neighbours. Previous South Korean governments signed free trade agreements with both ASEAN and India, but increasing protectionism in the US and trade sanctions from China in 2017 convinced Seoul that it should further diversify its economic links. As for diplomacy, South Korea sees ASEAN, especially, and India as key partners to bring North Korea in from the cold. They can provide diplomatic support for President Moon’s engagement efforts, and Vietnam can serve as a model if and as North Korea continues to implement economic reform

KF-VUB Korea Chair Policy Brief 5- Jobs, fairness and peace: The first anniversary of the Moon government. Institute for European Studies Issue 2018/05

One year from his election, Moon Jae-in is a very popular president with approval ratings hovering around 80 per cent. The reason for his popularity is, to an extent, fairly simple: he has followed the promises that he made during last year’s election campaign. This refers both to domestic affairs and inter-Korean relations. With regards to the former, President Moon has been implementing a series of job boosting measures. He wants to address a perceived lack of good-quality jobs. Furthermore, his government is seeking to improve social equality. President Moon is thus addressing one of the major grievances among many South Koreans – namely the perception that those in power play by a different set of rules. On inter-Korean relations, President Moon is implementing an engagement policy that has helped to ease tensions in the Korean Peninsula and put South Korea in the driving seat

From Pyeongchang to Pyongyang. IES Policy Brief No. 2, February 2018

The Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games have already served one very important purpose: helping to thaw inter-Korean relations. Since engagement is a key element of President Moon Jae-in’s North Korea policy, it is highly likely that Seoul will continue to seek exchanges with Pyongyang. It is thus up to the Kim Jongun regime to accept Seoul’s olive branch and contribute to improving inter-Korean relations. With Pyongyang continuing to support – or at least accept – domestic economic reform and marketization, economic and technical support from Seoul is crucial. Indeed, the goodwill that most South Koreans still seem to hold towards their poorer Northern neighbour and the funding that South Korea can provide cannot be matched by any other country. For Seoul, engagement can serve to ease inter-Korean tensions, make it evermore difficult for Pyongyang to reverse reforms, and put South Korea in the driving seat of Korean Peninsula affairs

Achieving Peace on the Korean Peninsula

The possibility of peace seems closer than ever before, but caution is necessary