Launch of Korea-U.S. Technology Prosperity MOU Implementation Working Group...Advancing Strategic Science and Technology Cooperation

South Korea and the United States are launching a working group for strategic cooperation in science and technology, including AI and quantum technologies.

Bae Kyunghun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, met with Kratios Michael, Director from the United States, during the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence Ministerial Council in New Delhi, India, on February 19 (local time). Ministry of Science and ICT.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on February 21, Bae Kyunghun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, took the opportunity of attending the "2026 India AI Impact Summit" to hold a bilateral meeting with Michael Kratios, Science and Technology Advisor to U.S. President Trump and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where they agreed to launch a working group to implement the "Korea-U.S. Technology Prosperity Memorandum of Understanding."

This working group is a follow-up measure to the "Korea-U.S. Technology Prosperity Memorandum of Understanding" signed by the two governments on the occasion of the leaders' summit held during APEC Week in October last year.

The two countries plan to discuss specific areas of cooperation specified in the Korea-U.S. Technology Prosperity Memorandum of Understanding, including AI, research security, telecommunications innovation, biotechnology, quantum technologies, space, and basic scientific research.

The working group will be composed of government officials and relevant experts, and the Ministry of Science and ICT and the U.S. Department of State will be in charge of coordination. It will also include subcommittees dedicated to specific technology areas. The outcomes of the working group discussions are scheduled to be announced at the 12th Korea-U.S. Joint Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, slated for the second half of this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Bae stated, "Through the framework of the Technology Prosperity Memorandum of Understanding, Korea and the United States have established a strategic science and technology cooperation relationship that reflects global technology trends, and by agreeing to operate the working group, we are now embarking on deriving practical cooperation," adding, "We will communicate closely to deliver tangible results in the areas covered under the Technology Prosperity Memorandum of Understanding."