Korea and France Sign 14 Documents at Summit, Covering AI, Semiconductors, Nuclear Fuel and Minerals [Korea–France Summit]

According to The Financial News, President Lee Jae Myung held a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron on the 3rd, following a friendship dinner the previous day during Macron’s state visit to Korea. This is Macron’s first visit to Korea since he took office in 2017, which gives the summit added significance. On the occasion of this visit, Korea and France agreed to upgrade their relationship from a "Comprehensive Partnership for the 21st Century," established in 2004, to a "global strategic partnership" after 22 years.
In particular, the two countries revised three existing agreements and signed 11 new Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) in connection with the summit. Korea and France decided to strengthen cooperation across a wide range of areas, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), the semiconductor industry, critical minerals, nuclear power, offshore wind power generation, space, the defense industry and cultural cooperation.
On the same day, the two sides signed a letter of intent on cooperation in AI, the semiconductor industry and quantum technologies. The document focuses on expanding joint research, personnel exchanges and industrial cooperation in these core strategic sectors. Based on this, government-level policy exchanges and collaboration among industry and academia in key fields are expected to increase between the two countries.
A separate letter of intent on cooperation in the critical minerals supply chain was also signed. The plan is to combine Korea’s experience in manufacturing permanent magnets, managing strategic stockpiles and supporting high-tech industries with France’s refining technologies and infrastructure in the critical minerals sector.
Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) and Orano signed a cooperation MOU as well. The MOU sets out broad cooperation on the nuclear fuel cycle between the two companies. This is expected to strengthen collaboration on the nuclear fuel supply chain, secure a more stable fuel procurement base and reinforce the foundation for joint entry into the global nuclear power market through expanded Korea–France cooperation. KHNP also concluded a cooperation MOU with Framatome to further bolster the nuclear fuel supply chain and enhance stability of fuel procurement, again with an eye to expanding Korea–France collaboration in the global nuclear power market. In addition, through an MOU with Électricité de France (EDF) on offshore wind power generation, the two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in the offshore wind power industry.
The working holiday agreement between Korea and France was also revised. The eligible age for the Korea–France working holiday program, previously set at 18 to 30, will be raised to 18 to 35. The aim is to expand youth exchanges between the two countries.
In addition, the Cultural Technology Cooperation Agreement and the Agreement on the Protection of Classified Military Information were amended on the occasion of the summit. The Cultural Technology Cooperation Agreement now extends the scope of cooperation to emerging cultural content sectors and supplements provisions to facilitate the establishment and operation of cultural institutions in both countries. The Agreement on the Protection of Classified Military Information has been updated to reflect the two countries’ revised classification levels and adds a clause allowing access to certain military secrets to be restricted to nationals of Korea and France only.
Furthermore, the two governments signed an MOU in the veterans affairs field that covers cooperation on honoring Korean War veterans, strengthening exchanges between veterans’ organizations and their descendants, and enhancing institutional cooperation. They also concluded an MOU on cultural heritage, an MOU on grant-type development cooperation, an MOU on development cooperation through concessional loans, a letter of intent on exchanges of assistant language teachers, and a letter of intent on cooperation in the field of forestry.
cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun Reporter