South korea: South Korea has attracted a combined US$165 million in foreign direct investment from four European companies and signed a digital trade agreement with the European Union (EU), deepening economic cooperation with the major economic bloc, Seoul officials said Thursday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the European companies-Germany's Orafol, France's Quandela, the Netherlands' Prodrive Technologies, and Sweden's Mycronic-unveiled their investment plans in Korea in the semiconductor, quantum computing, and other key industries during the investment announcement ceremony co-hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. The ceremony was held Wednesday, marking South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's visit to Belgium for a meeting with EU leaders.

South Korea also held a separate roundtable event with European business leaders to discuss ways to expand cooperation between the two economies amid heightened geopolitical risks, the global rise of trade protectionism, and rapid technological advancements.

The ministry stated that South Korea and the EU have signed an official digital trade agreement (DTA) to promote bilateral trade related to the digital economy and ease digital regulations affecting their companies. It marks the second DTA the Seoul government has signed with a foreign partner, following Singapore.

For broader industrial cooperation, the two sides agreed to establish high-level economic dialogue to facilitate consultations over trade, strategic industries, and supply chains. Meanwhile, the climate ministry announced that South Korea and the EU have decided to establish a vice-ministerial dialogue for talks on energy issues.