Pres. Lee wraps Singapore-Philippines trip, spotlighting AI, defense and supply chain strategy

Описание: 이재명 대통령, 싱가포르•필리핀 순방 마무리… AI•방산•공급망 전략 부각

Welcome to Within The Frame, where we bring the most pressing issues across the globe into focus. I'm Kim Mok-yeon.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has wrapped up a four-day state visit to Singapore and the Philippines, placing future industries and strategic security front and center.
The trip highlighted cooperation in artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, defense, and supply chains, sectors seen as critical to South Korea’s next phase of growth.
It also unfolded against a backdrop of intensifying U.S.-China competition, rising tensions in the South China Sea, and growing concerns over global energy and logistics risks.
With ASEAN increasingly important to Seoul’s economic and security strategy, attention now turns to what these agreements truly mean, not just diplomatically, but for long-term economic resilience, regional stability, and new opportunities for Korean businesses.

For this, we're joined in the studio by Sung Soo Eric Kim, Adjunct Professor at Yonsei Graduate School of Business and Founder & CEO of Datacrunch Global. Welcome.

Also joining us is Lee Jaehyon, Principal Fellow at Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Good to see you.


(KIM) 1. President Lee Jae Myung has wrapped up his four-day state visit to Singapore and the Philippines.
From an economic standpoint, how would you assess the outcomes of this trip?
And considering the clear emphasis on high-value-added sectors like AI, nuclear energy, and defense, should we see this as a shift in South Korea’s broader economic strategy?

(LEE) 2. Turning to defense and security, what would you identify as the key achievements? In particular, the Philippines is South Korea’s largest defense partner in Southeast Asia. How has mutual trust between the two countries been built over time?

(KIM) 3. South Korea and Singapore have announced plans to modernize rules in areas such as supply chains and the green economy through upgraded FTA negotiations. At a time when U.S.-China strategic competition and supply chain restructuring have become the norm, what is the significance of this renewed supply chain cooperation? And what challenges need to be addressed to make it a reality?

(LEE) 4. With growing tensions in the South China Sea, broader maritime security concerns, and rising risks to sea lanes of communication, energy, and logistics highlighted by the recent Iran situation, how important is solidarity among middle powers like South Korea and ASEAN? And how could that cooperation be institutionalized and expanded?

(LEE) 5. There is also an assessment that South Korea-Philippines defense cooperation is expanding beyond arms exports into broader regional security collaboration. What would be the key pillars to make this partnership sustainable? And do you believe this latest trip has further strengthened that trajectory?

(LEE) 6. As South Korea expands its defense and security cooperation, diplomatic and economic risks inevitably come into play. In particular, considering relations with China, how far should South Korea engage? Where is the balance point between economic pragmatism and strategic involvement?

(KIM) 7. AI cooperation also stood out during this trip. What strengths do South Korea, Singapore, and the Philippines each bring to the AI sector? And if AI is viewed not just as an industry but as a strategic security asset, how should the cooperation model evolve?

(KIM) 8. Finally, how could the outcomes of this trip translate into real opportunities for South Korean companies and startups? Beyond large conglomerates, what needs to happen for these partnerships to spread across the broader industrial ecosystem?


We'll have to leave our discussion right here, many thanks to Prof.Kim and Dr.Lee, we appreciate it.

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2026-03-04, 20:30 (KST)