President Moon: "New Southern Plus Policy, a People-Centered Peace and Prosperity Community"

Attending the 21st Korea-ASEAN Summit... From Korean-style Healthcare to Hallyu, 'New Southern Policy Plus'

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] President Moon Jae-in attended the 21st Korea-ASEAN Summit on the 12th and stated, "This year marks the meaningful 10th anniversary of the establishment of the ‘strategic partnership’ between ASEAN and Korea," adding, "Korea evaluates that the vision and achievements of the ‘New Southern Policy’ have been beneficial to both ASEAN and Korea, and has prepared the ‘New Southern Policy Plus Strategy.’"

President Moon emphasized, "The ‘New Southern Policy Plus Strategy’ contains new and practical measures centered on seven key cooperation areas, including ‘comprehensive health and medical cooperation,’" and added, "By proactively leading the ‘post-COVID-19 era,’ we will be able to more quickly realize a ‘people-centered community of peace and prosperity.’"

The meeting was held via video conference from 5:45 PM to 6:45 PM. It was the first schedule of the ASEAN-related summit meetings continuing over the next four days. President Moon attracted attention by introducing the seven key cooperation areas of the ‘New Southern Policy Plus Strategy,’ which reflect the new demands of ASEAN countries.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The seven key cooperation areas are ▲post-COVID-19 comprehensive health and medical cooperation ▲sharing Korea’s education model and supporting human resource development ▲promoting interactive cultural exchange utilizing the Korean Wave ▲establishing a mutually beneficial and sustainable trade and investment foundation ▲supporting win-win rural and urban infrastructure development ▲cooperation in future industries for shared prosperity ▲and cooperation in non-traditional security fields.

President Moon said, "Korea fully supports the ‘ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework’ officially launched today. Through the combination of the five key areas proposed by ASEAN and the ‘New Southern Policy Plus Strategy,’ I hope ASEAN and Korea will enjoy great prosperity together," and added, "I expect that joint measures for overcoming COVID-19 and economic recovery will be discussed at today’s meeting, and that the strategic partnership will be further strengthened."

President Moon also introduced cooperation in non-traditional security fields responding to future threats such as disaster management, climate change response, and marine pollution management, as well as the plan to strengthen maritime cooperation through the establishment of the Korea-Maritime Southeast Asia Cooperation Fund.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In addition, President Moon emphasized that the ‘fast-track system’ and ‘special exception entry’ have been great aids in overcoming COVID-19. He conveyed that Korea will participate in vaccine development in the international community and strive to ensure that vaccines and treatments are distributed equitably to all ASEAN countries through international organizations such as the International Vaccine Institute (IVI).

ASEAN leaders expressed their welcome for President Moon’s proposal of the ‘New Southern Policy Plus Strategy’ to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN and stated that they are ready to actively cooperate.

Meanwhile, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Korea-ASEAN strategic partnership. The Blue House explained, "Since the announcement of the New Southern Policy, we have completed visits to all 10 ASEAN countries and held the 2019 Korea-ASEAN Special Summit, establishing a strategic friendly relationship at the level of the four neighboring powers," adding, "Mutual trade increased by 28% over three years, and mutual visits increased by 50%, demonstrating tangible cooperation achievements."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.