Analysis by Péter Goreczky and Tibor Mezei
The New Southern Policy (NSP) initiated by President Moon Jae-in in 2017 has given significant impetus to the development of political, economic, and cultural relations between the Republic of Korea and the ASEAN countries. The objective of South Korea is to enhance its middle power status and bolster its image as an important regional player. While the results of political and security cooperation have been modest so far, advancing economic and trade cooperation with the ASEAN region offers important opportunities for South Korea to expand and diversify its economic relationships. The growing consumer market of ASEAN and free trade agreements could primarily boost trade flows, while direct investments of South Korean companies could be catalysed by relocation strategies, supply chain transformation, and new, emerging industries and technologies. Official development aid is also expected to play an increasingly important role in the economic relations between South Korea and the ASEAN region. The main challenges include building relations with the less developed and stable economies of the region and the low visibility of the NSP at the level of regional narratives.
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