1. On March 18, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul met with Věra Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, who visited Korea on the occasion of the Ministerial Conference of the 3rd Summit for Democracy. They exchanged views on democracy, countering disinformation, promoting transparency, artificial intelligence, and ROK-EU relations.

2. Foreign Minister Cho emphasized the need for concerting the efforts of countries that share the universal values to promote democracy amid the global polycrisis. He wished the continuous cooperation with the European Union in raising transparency of the democratic institutions and in countering disinformation, through sharing good examples and experiences.

3. Vice-President Jourová recalled that the world faces the geopolitical crisis, not least the war in Ukraine and that this year expects multiple elections in many countries. In this context, she added that Korea’s hosting of the 3rd Summit for Democracy is very timely and that the European Union puts great importance on the relations with Korea, important partner sharing fundamental values.

4. Vice-President Jourová wished stronger cooperation with Korea, especially in Artificial Intelligence and democratic transparency. Minister Cho responded that Korea’s co-hosting of the AI Summit and the Summit on Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM), with the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, respectively, this year will be a great opportunity to deepen cooperation with the European Union in the sector.

5. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Cho highly valued recent active exchanges and cooperation between Korea and the European Union. He wished that the two parties will continue to work closely to hold the 1st Strategic Dialogue at the Foreign Minister level, which will contribute to smooth implementation of the agreements of the ROK-EU Summit last year.