Greetings from the Republic of Korea (RoK)!

I am Maria CASTILLO FERNANDEZ, the European Union’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (RoK). Originally from Spain, I feel at home in Korea where I have the very stimulating mission of promoting the best possible relations between the EU and the RoK.  As we enter 2025, I’m especially proud to celebrate a personal milestone: this year marks 25 years since I began my diplomatic career focusing on EU-Korea relations. It feels incredibly special to be concluding my final post abroad in the very same city where my journey began in 2005, bringing my career to a full circle.

The EU and the RoK have been strong partners since 1963, and in 2023, we celebrated 60 years of diplomatic relations—our Hwangap. Over these six decades, we have become more committed than ever to our strategic partnership grounded in common interest and the shared values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, effective multilateralism, open, free and fair trade, and the rules-based international order.

Unfortunately, the world faces threats to global peace and security, notably Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear and missile programmes, the military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia, as well as multi-dimensional challenges, such as climate change, food and energy security. Against this backdrop, I am very pleased that the EU and the RoK are resolved to continue and expand cooperation in a future-oriented and mutually beneficial way, including in the framework of our respective Indo-Pacific strategies and the EU’s Global Gateway.

During my watch in Seoul, I have seen how our cooperation has continued to strengthen. Together, over the recent years, we have launched a Security and Defence Partnership to sharpen our efforts in support of global peace and security, a Green Partnership to promote environmental and climate issues, a Digital Partnership to work closer on high-tech areas such as AI and semi-conductors, and an Administrative Arrangement on Health Emergency Preparedness and Response. As we look ahead to 2025, the EU is truly looking forward to welcome the Republic of Korea as an official associate country to our Horizon Europe research program, with a budget of 100 billion euros.

The EU-RoK Free Trade Agreement and its continued implementation have greatly contributed to a robust and thriving economic relationship. I would here like to recall that today, the EU stands as Korea’s first foreign direct investor and third-largest trading partner, while Korea is the EU’s eighth-largest trading partner.

In this spirit, the EU will continue to engage actively with the RoK on all issues of common interest and to the benefit of a more secure, stable and prosperous world. The EU considers our relation with the RoK to be a high priority and we will remain a reliable partner of yours.

At our Delegation, we are dedicated to strengthening the bonds between the EU and the RoK also through engaging activities. We participate in green initiatives like tree planting events and green partnership programme, promote human rights through conferences, festivals and forums like International Women’s Day, and celebrate Europe’s diverse and rich heritage through cultural events such as Europe Day, European Day of Languages, the EU Film Festival, and the “EU Goes to School” program. These initiatives aim to foster unity, understanding, and mutual respect in our rich relationship.

We invite you to stay connected with us through our website and social media (@EUinKorea) for exciting updates and events! We look forward to continuing our journey together.