[Gyeongju APEC] Korea and U.S. to Jointly Foster AI, Quantum, Space, and Bio... Technology Prosperity MOU (Comprehensive)

Official Signing of Korea-U.S. Technology Prosperity MOU
Concerns Over Korea's Sensitive Country Designation Expected to Ease
Baek Kyunghoon: "A Symbol of Cooperation for the Prosperity of Future Generations"

The governments of South Korea and the United States have laid the groundwork for elevating their science and technology cooperation to a technological alliance across key emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum, biotechnology, and space. The two countries have also agreed to expand basic research and personnel exchanges, which appears to have alleviated much of the concern caused by the United States' designation of South Korea as a sensitive country.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on October 29 that it would officially sign the Korea-U.S. Technology Prosperity Deal (TPD) MOU. This MOU is a major outcome of the Korea-U.S. summit held during the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) week. The agreement will be signed by Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Baek Kyunghoon and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios.

The core area of cooperation is "Accelerating AI Applications and Innovation." Both countries plan to focus on accelerating the development of various industries using AI technologies. To this end, they have agreed to jointly develop an innovation-friendly AI policy framework and to cooperate on the export of AI technologies across the full stack of AI domains.

In particular, the two sides will work to build a regional AI ecosystem for Asia and other countries, closely cooperating not only on the export of trustworthy AI technologies but also on developing suitable datasets for AI utilization and promoting safe AI innovation. This is seen as an effort to strengthen Korea-U.S. cooperation with China in mind.

The "technological alliance" will also expand to cover next-generation communications, quantum, space, pharmaceutical and bio supply chains, as well as research security. The goal is to secure "trusted technology leadership."

Both sides share an understanding of the importance of research security in R&D across key emerging technologies, and have agreed to actively support basic research and personnel exchanges to strengthen the foundation of scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries.

The Ministry of Science and ICT expressed its expectation that by establishing a solid foundation for science and technology cooperation between Korea and the United States in economic, security, and industrial aspects, the two countries will expand their partnership into a technological alliance encompassing basic research, strategic technologies, and research security, taking a step forward in securing leadership in global competition.

The signing ceremony, held at the APEC venue in Gyeongju on this day, will be attended by Ha Jungwoo, Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning at the Presidential Office, and Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The two sides will then hold a bilateral meeting to discuss the implementation of the MOU. Next year, the two countries plan to hold the Korea-U.S. Joint Committee on Science and Technology in Washington, D.C., to establish concrete and advanced cooperation measures.

Senior Secretary Ha Jungwoo stated, "This MOU will allow both countries to strengthen technological sovereignty based on people-centered, inclusive AI and private sector-led innovation," adding, "In particular, Korea-U.S. cooperation in AI R&D and full-stack AI export will serve as a springboard for Korea to become one of the world's top three AI powerhouses."

Vice Prime Minister Baek Kyunghoon emphasized, "This MOU is a symbol of cooperation for the prosperity of future generations in both countries," and expressed his expectation that "scientific and technological exchanges and investment between Korea and the United States will become even more active."

Meanwhile, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, ahead of the APEC summit, called on South Korea and Japan to make greater efforts in scientific and technological cooperation during the ASEAN summit held in Malaysia. This is interpreted as a sign of caution against the expansion of U.S.-centered scientific and technological cooperation taking place around the APEC summit.