Lee seeks ASEAN backing to turn South Korea’s trade ambitions into results



Briefings Lee seeks ASEAN backing to turn South Korea’s trade ambitions into results Seoul aims for $300 billion in annual trade by 2029, but Vietnam’s large share highlights the challenge of wider growth KOREA PRONovember 16, 2026 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON President Lee Jae Myung joins Southeast Asian leaders at the ROK-ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 27, 2025 \| Image: Blue House President Lee Jae Myung will seek stronger economic ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders at a summit in Manila on Monday, as South Korea moves to implement its regional partnership agenda and expand cooperation in emerging industries. Lee will review progress under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) vision he introduced last year and seek ASEAN members’ support for its implementation, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Thursday. The initiative builds on the 2026-2030 action plan adopted by Seoul and ASEAN in July 2025. Lee’s government has set a target of $300 billion in annual bilateral tradeby © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01Huang’s Nvidia exit and Lutnick’s precarious position raise stakes for Seoul 02Inside the Seoul circle using Lee’s Arctic push to bring Russia in from the cold 03AI deepfakes of North Korean troops expose South Korea’s crisis response risks 04Democratic Congress could protect US troops while delaying Seoul’s defense goals 05South Korea’s DMZ access push puts UN Command’s armistice powers to the test 06Korea Foundation’s US office registers under FARA, then terminates filing 07South Korea moves to incentivize marriage, but neglects issues facing the unwed 08North Korea’s cluster warheads put South Korea’s wartime resilience to test

Briefings

Lee seeks ASEAN backing to turn South Korea’s trade ambitions into results

Seoul aims for $300 billion in annual trade by 2029, but Vietnam’s large share highlights the challenge of wider growth

KOREA PRONovember 16, 2026

Lee seeks ASEAN backing to turn South Korea’s trade ambitions into results

President Lee Jae Myung joins Southeast Asian leaders at the ROK-ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Oct. 27, 2025 | Image: Blue House

President Lee Jae Myung will seek stronger economic ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders at a summit in Manila on Monday, as South Korea moves to implement its regional partnership agenda and expand cooperation in emerging industries. Lee will review progress under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) vision he introduced last year and seek ASEAN members’ support for its implementation, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Thursday.

The initiative builds on the 2026-2030 action plan adopted by Seoul and ASEAN in July 2025. Lee’s government has set a target of $300 billion in annual bilateral tradeby

Lee seeks ASEAN backing to turn South Korea’s trade ambitions into results

LATEST ANALYSIS

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