1. The ROK government held an Indo-Pacific Forum titled, “The Action Plan of the Republic of Korea for a Free, Peaceful, Prosperous Indo-Pacific,” on December 19, 2023, on the occasion of the first anniversary of its Indo-Pacific Strategy.

※ Date and Place : 14:00~17:30, December 19, 2023  / International Conference Room (3F), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)

※ Program : ▴Keynote speech (Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Chang Ho-jin), ▴Review of progress in implementation of Indo-Pacific Strategy (Secretary to President for National Security Strategy), ▴Key elements of Action Plan for Indo-Pacific Strategy (relevant government agencies), ▴Panel discussion (experts), ▴Q&A session

o At the forum, the participants reviewed the efforts by government agencies to implement the Indo-Pacific Strategy and key achievements therefrom over the past year, and key elements of the Action Plan on the core lines of efforts, and explored future projects.

o The forum, jointly hosted by MOFA and other key government agencies, brought together approximately over 150 people, including members of the Diplomatic Corps in the ROK, representatives from international organizations in the Indo-Pacific region, Korean experts and officials from key relevant institutions, and Korean and foreign journalists.

※ Participating institutions

- (ROK government agencies)▴Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ▴Ministry of National Defense, ▴Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, ▴Ministry of Science and ICT, ▴Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, ▴Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, ▴Korea Coast Guard, ▴Office of President (Office of National Security)

- (Diplomatic Corps) ▴Diplomatic missions of countries in Indo-Pacific and beyond (Ambassador level), ▴Offices of international organizations in Indo-Pacific region  

- (Regional Organizations) ▴Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), ▴ASEAN-Korea Center, etc.

- (Relevant Institutions) ▴Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ▴Federation of Korean Industries, ▴Export-Import Bank of Korea, ▴Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), etc.

2. In his keynote speech, Chang Ho-jin, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, mentioned that the ROK government has made efforts to work out an implementation plan throughout this year. Calling this year the first year of implementing the Indo-Pacific Strategy, he shared the efforts the ROK government has made, such as ▴sending a consistent message for upholding the rules-based order, ▴deepening the engagement in the Indo-Pacific region such as by hosting the first Korea-Pacific Island Summit this year, and ▴increasing its ODA budget to expand the engagement in the region. Furthermore, he appreciated the Action Plan, which includes 52 objectives under 9 core lines of efforts, as a fruitful outcome of government-wide collaboration.

o  The Vice Minister added that, as the Indo-Pacific Strategy is a new milestone in foreign affairs to serve national interests and expand the diplomatic horizon in this poly crisis era, the government has made efforts to work out an implementation plan and will carry it out sincerely.

3. Lim Sang-beom, Secretary to the President for National Security Strategy, elaborated on the focus in implementing the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the key achievements made in the core lines of efforts over the past year. He added that the government will check the progress in the implementation and seek more progress by publishing an interagency Progress Report on an annual basis.

4. Next, government agencies’ plans regarding major projects on the Action Plan were presented by Woo Jung-Yeop (Director-General for Strategy at MOFA), Lee Seung-buhm (Director-General for International Policy at the Ministry of National Defense), Heo Manwook (Director-General of the International Cooperation Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries), Ahn Sung-shik (Director-General of the International Affairs and Intelligence Bureau at the Korea Coast Guard), Kim Jongchul (Director-General of the Bureau of International Trade Relations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy), Kim Seong Gyu (Director-General of the International Cooperation Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT), and Won Doyeon (Director-General for Development Cooperation at MOFA).  

* Examples of Projects : Establishment of a maritime domain awareness (MDA) platform, combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, tailored developmental cooperation, expanding cooperation funds in the Indo-Pacific, and addressing disinformation overseas, etc.

5. In the panel discussion that followed, experts in major policy areas reviewed the achievements from the implementation of the Indo-Pacific Strategy over the past year, and exchanged views on the way forward and challenges lying ahead in view of the detailed Action Plan of the Indo-Pacific Strategy.

 ※ The panel discussion was led by Sohn Yul, President of the East Asia Institute, and joined by Park Jae Jeok, Professor of Yonsei University (rules-based order); Lee Sook youn, Professor of Korea National Defense University (maritime security); Lee Hyo-young, Professor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (economic security); and Choi Hyun Jin, Professor of Kyunghee University (development cooperation).

6. By announcing the Action Plan, the government of the ROK reaffirmed its commitment to contribute to freedom, peace, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the global community. Pursuant to the Action Plan, the government will seek to realize the vision of becoming a “global pivotal state” through solidarity and cooperation with like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.