China, South Korea tech competition and US-led bloc have Seoul scrambling to prevent leaks but protect trade

South Korea’s alignment with US-led economic bloc poses challenge for Seoul that experts say will necessitate adjustments ‘in face of wider global competition’

More heavy-handed measures, such as a comprehensive bill, are necessary to help foster and protect South Korea’s cutting-edge tech, intelligence service says

4-MIN READ4-MIN

South Korea must do more to help foster and protect the nation’s cutting-edge technology, according to its intelligence service. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 5:00am, 19 Jul 2022Updated: 5:50am, 19 Jul 2022

South Korea needs to fine-tune its strategies while further committing to the “closed system” of a US-led economic bloc, as the two countries are facing fundamentally different challenges, especially in the realm of science and technology, according to foreign policy experts in South Korea.

Achieving economic security has been at the forefront of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s to-do list since beginning his term in May.

The concept has long been heavily emphasised by the United States. And for American allies, this often means reinforcing economic security against China amid intensifying competition between the world’s two biggest economies.

In line with that goal, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit South Korea on Tuesday as the last stop on her 11-day visit to the Indo-Pacific region, and she will speak with President Yoon to discuss matters of economic security.

What we really need to consider is whether there really is more to earn than to lose by building such a closed system

Baek Seo-in, Science and Technology Policy Institute

“We cannot allow countries like China to use their market position in key raw materials, technologies or products to disrupt our economy and exercise unwanted geopolitical leverage,” Yellen will say in a major policy speech at the facilities of LG Chem, South Korea’s largest chemical company, according to excerpts of the speech that were released in advance by the US Treasury Department.

While President Yoon has played up the building of reliable supply chains as a major component in the nation’s attempts to bolster economic security, leveraging and protecting its hi-tech sector has also been viewed as equally important.

Baek Seo-in, an associate research fellow at the Science and Technology Policy Institute in Seoul, said: “South Korea has been following the US’ emphasis on critical and emerging technologies. The understanding is that we shouldn’t just stop at fostering the development of such technologies, but we need to protect them in face of wider global competition.