First Asian country to sign the Horizon Europe Association Agreement with the EU
The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, hereinafter referred to as the ‘MSIT’) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that they held a signing ceremony for the “Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Korea on the Participation of the Republic of Korea in the Union Programmes” and the “Protocol on the Association of the Republic of Korea to Horizon Europe – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 2021-2027” at the European Commission headquarters in Belgium at 3:00 PM (local time) on July 17
The agreement, signed by Ambassador to the European Union Ryu Jeonghyun and Deputy Director General of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation Signe Ratso as representatives of both sides, stipulates all matters related to Korea’s participation in the EU program and includes the contents of Korea’s participation in Horizon Europe, one of the EU programs, as an associated country through the protocol.
Horizon Europe is the 9th Framework Programme (hereinafter referred to as ‘FP’) that the European Union has been promoting since 1984, and is the world’s largest multilateral research and innovation program. Horizon Europe, which will invest a total of 95.5 billion euros (approximately 150 trillion won) of EU financial contributions over 7 years from 2021 to 2027, is participated by 27 EU member states and 19 associated countries including the UK, Norway, Iceland, and Canada*, and Korea has become the first Asian country to officially join Horizon Europe as an associated country.
*A total of 20 associated countries including Korea
Korea has been pursuing association discussions since its proposal to join the EU’s Horizon Europe as an associated country in 2018 and its submission of a Letter of Intent in 2021. After the exploratory talks and formal negotiations, the association negotiations were concluded in 2024. In May 2025, both sides completed internal procedures for signing the agreement, leading to the signing in July 2025.
Non-European associated countries, including Korea, will participate in Pillar 2 (53.5 billion euros, approximately 85 trillion won) of Horizon Europe, which deals with global challenges and industrial competitiveness. Korean researchers participating in Pillar 2 can apply for projects with the same qualifications as researchers from EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries, and after project selection according to the European Union procedure, they will receive research funds directly from the Horizon Europe budget without a separate domestic selection evaluation.
Korean researchers can participate as associate member researchers from January 1, 2025 through the provisional application of the agreement, and various domestic researchers have already formed a research consortium with European researchers and are applying for the currently announced Horizon Europe project.
The government is also pursuing various support measures to encourage domestic researchers to participate in Horizon Europe, such as supporting pre-planning projects, holding Horizon Europe briefing sessions, establishing the Horizon Europe Multilateral Cooperation Team within the National Research Foundation of Korea, and holding a Korea-EU Horizon Europe Researchers Networking Forum.
Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon said, “Through the participation in Horizon Europe as an associated country, an opportunity has been created to expand joint research between Korean and European researchers, and I hope that practical cooperation in various advanced science and technology fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, and advanced life sciences (advanced bio) with the European region will expand.” He added, “The government will also do its best to ensure that joint research between Korean and European researchers can be actively carried out.”
Based on the signing of this agreement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to continue its efforts to deepen cooperative relations between Korea and EU countries in future-oriented fields including cutting-edge technology and to jointly create international standards for cutting-edge technology.
