On 24 April 2026, the Korea Centre of the NUS East Asian Institute, in conjunction with the University of Sydney and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), hosted a workshop entitled “Advancing South Korea–ASEAN Science and Technology Cooperation.” The workshop examined the current state of science and technology cooperation between South Korea and ASEAN Member States and discussed technology transfer, research and trade relationships, opportunities in critical technology sectors, and the policy and institutional frameworks needed to support such cooperation.
■ Strategic Context for Cooperation
Amid growing uncertainty in the international system—including US–China great-power contestation, tariff tensions, pressure on supply chains, and backsliding on globalization—the workshop explored how South Korea and ASEAN Member States can pursue mutually beneficial cooperation through small- and middle-power cooperation.
The discussion was guided by the following questions:
• How can South Korea effectively transfer tangible and intangible critical technologies to ASEAN Member States?
• What capacities do ASEAN Member States need to absorb and utilize transferred technologies?
• How can Korea’s existing technology research and trade relationships with ASEAN be leveraged as a pathway for more strategic science and technology cooperation?
• How can South Korea and ASEAN Member States pursue mutually beneficial small- and middle-power cooperation amid intensifying great-power competition?
■ Mapping South Korea–ASEAN Science and Technology Cooperation
The first session examined the strategic context in which South Korea–ASEAN science and technology cooperation is taking place, research collaboration networks, and areas of specialization across ASEAN Member States.
Justin Hastings of the University of Sydney and Park Kyung Ryul, Director of the KAIST Global Center for Development and Strategy (G-CODEs), introduced the topic and outlined the strategic context and challenges surrounding South Korea–ASEAN science and technology cooperation. They also demonstrated how mapping research collaboration networks can reveal the effectiveness of technology transfer, identify areas of research strength, and highlight opportunities for fruitful future collaboration. In artificial intelligence, ASEAN Member States were found to contribute to research networks with South Korea in specific fields, particularly in the practical application of AI.
Vishnu Juwono of Universitas Indonesia discussed opportunities for cooperation between South Korea and Indonesia based on their diverging paths of industrialization. He suggested that South Korea’s advanced technology and need for supply chain resilience could be combined with Indonesia’s resources and demographic base through adaptive policy learning, advanced technology development and manufacturing—including electric vehicles and batteries—structured research and development sharing, and middle-power cooperation.
Yoon Seohee of KAIST G-CODEs analyzed the strategic specializations of science and technology partnerships between South Korea and ASEAN. She emphasized that the next step should not be to expand the volume of engagement, but rather to improve its precision through field-targeted and partner-differentiated cooperation.
■ Country Perspectives on Science and Technology Cooperation
The second session examined the evolution of science and technology cooperation between South Korea and individual ASEAN Member States, as well as the distinct opportunities and constraints facing each partnership.
Aries Arugay and Virgemarie Salazar of the University of the Philippines focused on comprehensive security cooperation between South Korea and the Philippines. They discussed South Korea’s growing role in Southeast Asian security as both a partner and supplier, alongside the Philippines’ efforts to modernize its military.
Seksan Anantasirikiat, Senior Researcher at the International Studies Centre (ISC), Thailand, presented a Thai perspective on South Korea’s science and technology engagement with ASEAN. He highlighted progress in agriculture and water management, smart cities, and medical technology, while noting that cooperation in advanced critical technologies, including quantum technologies, remains uneven.
Farlina Said, Director of the Institute of Strategic & International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia, discussed partnerships between South Korea and Malaysia in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and the defence industry. She noted that bilateral relations have evolved beyond trade primarily in raw materials and identified potential synergies between Malaysia’s growing AI and quantum technology ecosystems and South Korea’s critical technology strategies.
Andrew Mantong and Muhammad Habib of CSIS Indonesia analyzed South Korea–Indonesia technological cooperation through the case of electric vehicles and battery development. They argued that Indonesia’s weak and fragmented institutions and shifting policies have limited its ability to absorb technology and build a technically capable workforce. They stressed that technological autonomy requires not only diverse external partnerships but also stronger internal institutional coherence.
■ Cooperation in Critical Technology Sectors
The third session focused on opportunities for cooperation between South Korea and ASEAN Member States in three major critical technology sectors: nuclear energy, quantum technologies, and defence.
Alvin Chew, Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), traced South Korea’s cooperation with Southeast Asia in nuclear energy. Although the region currently lacks functioning nuclear power plants, civil nuclear power—particularly small modular reactors—is being discussed in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Manoj Harjani of RSIS examined developments in quantum technologies in South Korea and Southeast Asia, challenging conventional assumptions about the infancy of Southeast Asia’s quantum ecosystem.
Lee Haneol, Assistant Professor at Pusan National University, discussed lessons learned and the way forward for South Korea’s arms sales to, and cooperative weapons development with, Southeast Asia. He explained that South Korea has encouraged arms exports as a means of developing and maintaining its defence industrial base, and that collaboration with Southeast Asian countries forms an important part of this strategy.
■ Policy-Making and Institutional Challenges
The final session addressed the challenges associated with science and technology policy-making and institutions in South Korea and ASEAN.
Park Min Joung of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy proposed ways to strengthen South Korea’s partnership with Southeast Asia in alignment with ASEAN’s Plan of Action on Science, Technology and Innovation. She argued that South Korea should anchor its engagement with ASEAN in areas of strong complementarity, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, space, and batteries and green energy. Such cooperation should emphasize strategic alignment, ASEAN-wide benefit, and collective ownership.
Karryl Trajano, Research Fellow at RSIS, and Cho Dongyoun, Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), proposed Technology Impact Assessment as a deliberative, cross-border governance mechanism for ASEAN–ROK cooperation. The proposed mechanism is intended to mitigate administrative friction without requiring statutory harmonization.
They identified four potential domains for institutionalizing Technology Impact Assessment: trustworthy AI and digital trust, quantum communications and sensing, biotechnology for health security, and clean energy and storage.
■ Future Directions for Cooperation
The workshop concluded that effective science and technology cooperation between South Korea and ASEAN Member States must begin by identifying what partner countries actually need, which technologies are genuinely critical, and what technologies they have the capacity to absorb.
In the changing strategic environment of the Indo-Pacific, South Korea and ASEAN Member States will need to forge their own cooperative paths. To facilitate the development, transfer, and use of critical technologies, existing institutions, regulatory frameworks, and models of development should be reconsidered and modernized.