The EU-RoK IP Action Enters Its Third Year Following High-Level Engagement

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) enters the third year of implementation of the EU-RoK IP Action in the Republic of Korea. Launched in 2024, the project has become a key mechanism for aligning IP frameworks, supporting businesses and combating counterfeiting in Korea, with a particular focus on the digital world. 

IP remains a key pillar of the long-standing economic and innovation partnership between the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Korea (RoK), as reaffirmed at the high-level meeting between Ugo Astuto, the European Union’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, and Kim Yong-sun, Minister of intellectual property (IP) of the Republic of Korea, on 28 January 2026. The meeting highlighted the strategic importance of the EU-RoK IP Action in fostering trade, technological advancement, and creative industries, while also looking ahead to 2026’s priorities and opportunities. This new year builds on recent high-level exchanges between the European Union (EU) and the government of the Republic of Korea which reaffirmed the shared commitment to intellectual property (IP) cooperation. 

The third year of the EUIPO implemented EU-RoK IP Action will place emphasis on:

• continued dialogue for the alignment of IP policies in innovation-related sectors, such as e.g. the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies on IP, digital transformation, sustainability, and IP valuation;
• support for businesses, helping them to leverage IP for international growth and to better understand the EU and Korean IP systems;
• collaboration on enforcement, with a focus on the digital environment and online spaces.

This cooperation sets a global benchmark for IP alignment, reinforcing innovation as the foundation of EU-Korea relations.