Trend Competition and complementarity coexist between Korean and EU strategic industries

Summary

Korea's strengths lie in manufacturing and large-scale production, while the EU's lie in market size, advanced equipment and R&D, and the shaping of rules and standards. Trade and investment between the two are built mainly around manufacturing. In some markets the two sides compete directly, but at many stages of strategic industries and supply chains they can complement each other. Semiconductors, batteries, defence and critical minerals are the areas where competition and complementarity exist side by side. In chips, for example, Korea's memory and process capabilities can be linked with Europe's equipment, materials, industrial semiconductors and research base through joint research, pilot lines, training and crisis response.