Welcoming Remarks by H.E. Mr. Cho Tae-yul
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Reception for the Heads of Missions of the
European Regional Diplomatic Corps
July 16, 2024

Your Excellency Ambassador Piotr Ostaszewski,
Excellencies and Colleagues,

Good afternoon!

It is my great pleasure to welcome all of you here today.

I see some familiar faces and some new ones, and I would like you to know that all of you are always welcome in the Ministry.

Let me begin by quoting one of the most beloved European poets in Korea, Rainer Maria Rilke.

He once famously said, “A person isn’t who they are during the last conversation with them―they’re who they’ve been throughout your whole relationship.”

I wholeheartedly agree with him. Our short conversation today cannot do justice to the richness and the depth of bonds that exist between Korea and each of the countries you represent here today.

But by Rilke’s standards, the relationship between Korea and Europe over the last 140 some years can, and certainly does, demonstrate the true caliber of our characters and the strength of our friendship.

In fact, it is thanks to the sacrifice of 120 thousand men and women from Europe who came to defend freedom on this land that Korea is the vibrant and prosperous democracy it is today.

On this bedrock of shared values, a dynamic and multi-faceted cooperation is now flourishing.

Today’s Korea-Europe partnership spans diverse areas such as security and defense, trade and investment, science and technology, green transition, economic security and other emerging global issues.

Unfortunately, however, these years have witnessed wars and hardships on both sides. Peace remains fragile in many parts of the world today.

The war in Ukraine is entering its third year. Civilian casualties and damages are increasing daily.

The ongoing military conflict between Israel and Hamas further complicates the situation in the Middle East.

Security threats emerge anew, their boundaries seemingly limitless.

The recent military cooperation between Russia and North Korea highlights the intertwined nature of our two regions.
Their illicit military cooperation undermines peace and stability not only in the Indo-pacific but also the European region. North Korea and Russia should cease all illegal activities and should abide by the UN Security Council resolutions.

It is more imperative than ever for Korea and Europe to stand together.

Last week, for the third consecutive year, President Yoon attended the NATO summit in Washington D.C.

During the NATO Summit, the Member States strongly condemned the North Korean-Russian military cooperation and expressed grave concern over their deepening ties.

Throughout the NATO-IP4 Summit as well as the bilateral meetings with Heads of States of many countries represented here, President Yoon stressed that Europe and Asia are aligned closer than ever and called for an even stronger inter-regional security partnership.

Not only for the security cooperation, Korea is stepping up its solidarity with European countries in various multilateral fora to uphold universal values and the rules-based international order.

In March, Korea hosted the Third Summit for Democracy, which helped catalyze global partnerships to steer technological change in a direction that upholds democratic values.

In May, Korea held the AI Seoul Summit, which presented a precious occasion to forge alignment on three common priorities in AI governance: innovation, safety and inclusivity.

Coming September, Korea will host the High-Level Conference on Responsible AI in the Military Domain.
We will seek to ensure that the rules on AI in armed conflict safeguard and uphold human rights and international humanitarian law.

As such, Korea-Europe partnership has been further deepened and broadened over the past years. And all of you present here today have been playing an important role in this process.

Indeed, you are the unsung hero of today’s successful cooperation between Korea and Europe.

I thank you for your unwavering support and tireless efforts.

My special thanks in this regard go out to Ambassador Ostaszewski and Ambassador Vigants who are going to leave Korea shortly, for their great contributions to our respective bilateral relations during their tour of duty here in Korea. Why don’t we give them a big round of applause?

I look forward to continuing to work closely with you to move our partnership to a new height in the years to come. Thank you.