Jeju Peace Institute

LEE Jaehyon(Research Fellow, Asan Institute for Policy Studies)

The 2nd ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit to be held in Busan in December 2014 will present an important opportunity to look back on the progress made in the relations between Korea and ASEAN and set future directions for ASEAN-ROK relations. The weight of ASEAN is rising steadily in all respects from politics and security to economy, society and culture, affecting Korea’s national interests directly. Therefore, not only the current ASEAN-ROK relations but also setting their future direction properly is critical to Korea. Most notably, we need to come up with a major theme that sums up Korea’s ASEAN policies if we want to hear that the ASEAN-ROK Summit have been a success. Such a theme is also important in order to maximize the interest and participation of ASEAN, in particular. Furthermore, it will also be very important to enhance the foundation for strategic and security cooperation between Korea and ASEAN in order to secure room to maneuver for the region’s small and medium countries’ initiatives and strategies amid the growing competition among East Asia’s regional powers.