The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) held a Visiting Scholar Seminar with Professor Chul-nam Kwon from Yanbian University, China on August 19th, 2025, at the KIEP conference room. The seminar was organized to share Professor Kwon’s research conducted during his visiting period at KIEP and to discuss the potential for global linkages in vocational education systems.

Professor Kwon delivered a presentation titled “Situation and Prospects of China-South Korea Economic Cooperation.” In his talk, he examined the current state, challenges, opportunities, and future outlook of economic cooperation between the two countries, noting that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, bilateral trade had grown rapidly from $5 billion in 1992 to $364.2 billion in 2022.

While Korea has played a vital role not only in trade but also in investment with China, he observed that bilateral economic exchanges since 2017 have been strained by intensifying U.S.-China strategic rivalry, the THAAD issue, COVID-19, and U.S. sanctions on China’s advanced technologies. For instance, Korea’s direct investment in China dropped sharply by 77.9% year-on-year in 2023, highlighting severe challenges. Moreover, as both countries’ industrial structures have advanced and overlapped in strategic industries, the complementary nature of their economies has weakened, with competitive elements becoming more pronounced.

Nevertheless, Professor Kwon stressed that new opportunities still exist, including the trend of multipolarity and strengthened multilateralism, China’s expanding economic scale, the growth of the digital economy and advanced technologies, cooperation in third markets (such as the Belt and Road Initiative), and the ongoing RCEP and Korea-China FTA Phase 2 negotiations.

He emphasized that Korea’s globally competitive industries―such as semiconductors, automobiles, and steel―combined with China’s vast market and institutional openness, continue to provide a solid foundation for complementary cooperation. He concluded that future cooperation should focus on stabilizing industrial supply chains and jointly advancing into third markets, which would contribute to both countries’ goals of economic growth and improving public welfare.

The seminar featured active discussions with KIEP experts, including Senior Research Fellows Yul Kwon (Development Cooperation Policy Team) and Kwon Hyung Lee (Africa, Middle East, and Latin America Team), Research Fellows Jaichul Heo (Japan and East Asia Team) and Jangho Choi, together with Associate Research Fellow Dawool Kim (International Cooperation for Korean Unification Team). In addition, Senior Researchers Yoojeong Choi, Jungkyun Rhee, and Bum Hwan Kim (International Cooperation for Korean Unification Team), as well as Hong Won Kim (China Team), joined the discussions.

- Topic: Situation and Prospects of China-South Korea Economic Cooperation

- Date & Time: Tuesday, August 19, 2025, 10:30–11:30

- Venue: KIEP conference room (4F), Sejong

- Presenter: Professor Chul-nam Kwon, Yanbian University, China

- Host: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)

- Contact: Da Woon Lee, Senior Researcher, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America Team (dawnlee@kiep.go.kr)