The Koreas | Diplomacy | East Asia

From AI to Free Trade, South Korea and Singapore Double Down on Partnership

As the competition between the United States and China intensifies, Seoul and Singapore are laying the groundwork for strategic cooperation in a variety of fields.

South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong hold bilateral talks during Lee’s visit to Singapore, Mar. 2, 2026.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s state visit to Singapore this week had great significance amid deepening global uncertainty. It also reflected growing shared enthusiasm for diversifying the two nations’ strategic partnership.

At last year’s summit, Lee said that he found it “hard to understand why South Korea and Singapore had not forged a strategic partnership sooner.” Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, in a contribution to a Korean newspaper, shared similar strategic perceptions, citing a Korean proverb “A piece of white paper is lighter when carried together.” In other words, South Korea and Singapore are stronger and more resilient when they work as one. 

Faced with a hostile geopolitical environment and scarce natural resources, South Korea and Singapore each rose – from postwar ruins and from the shock of being thrust into unwanted independence, respectively. The two countries realized their hope of prosperity by developing human capital, actively embracing an open economy, and unwaveringly pursuing technological innovation. Over 50 years since they established diplomatic relations in 1975, they have stood on the global stage as a middle power with high-income status and strong industrial competitiveness.

Today, however, Seoul and Singapore are both facing new challenges. Wong has warned that as the United States retreats from its role as “global insurer,” the international society is shifting to a messy and unpredictable post-American order. He described Singapore as  a “canary in the coal mine,” one of the first nations to experience the economic fallout of spreading protectionism. 

South Korea, with its own heavy reliance on exports, shares the same sense of urgency. Yet President Lee Jae-myung sees this era of complex transition where international norms and order are shaken as an opportunity, not a crisis. He holds the view that South Korea, as a middle power firmly rooted in its national interests, must strategically leverage the multifaceted dynamics of competition, cooperation, and challenge, and play a more active role in shaping the emerging international order. 

Therefore, for these two countries, which will inevitably suffer the most when the multilateral and liberal economic order falters, it is both a natural consequence and a task of the times to join forces and move forward together.

On March 2, in what may prove a defining moment for both countries, Lee and Wong held their second summit in just four months – this time in Singapore – sending an unambiguous message to the world that the two countries are deepening their strategic alignment at precisely the moment the international order needs it most. Building on the Strategic Partnership established to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations, the two leaders agreed to launch negotiations to upgrade their bilateral free trade agreement, now in its 20th year, and adopted a joint declaration to that effect. 

The proposed FTA upgrade, aimed at responding to far-reaching shifts in trade, economic security, and technological innovation, came alongside five memorandums of understanding across the areas of  artificial intelligence, small modular reactors, the digital sector, and science and technology, together mapping out a blueprint for next-generation industrial cooperation between the two nations.

Yet the summit carries significance that extends well beyond trade, investment, and technology. Lee and Wong made clear that security and regional stability now anchor the bilateral relationship as an equally central pillar. They agreed to expand joint defense technology research and to strengthen cooperation against transnational threats including cyberattacks and online scams. Seoul also pledged active support for Singapore’s upcoming ASEAN chairmanship in 2027. 

Lee took the occasion to express his sincere gratitude to Wong for Singapore’s longstanding constructive role in advancing peace on the Korean Peninsula – a role that includes Singapore’s hosting of the landmark 2018 North Korea–United States summit – and expressed confidence in Singapore’s continued support for the inter-Korean peace process. 

The visit was also seen as an important opportunity to give concrete shape to, and begin implementing in earnest, the vision for the ASEAN-ROK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership announced at the 2025 ASEAN-South Korea Summit.

As the competition for technological hegemony between the United States and China intensifies, Seoul and Singapore are laying the groundwork for strategic cooperation in high-tech fields such as AI. In this context, most notable in this summit was the jointly hosted “AI Connect Summit,” which brought together AI professionals from both sides and launched the Korea-Singapore AI Alliance to significantly expand cooperation in the AI field. 

Together, South Korea and Singapore have the opportunity to move beyond the role of trading partners and emerge as “competitive bridge powers” – co-designing technology standards and bridging ASEAN’s structural gaps with a capacity-building package.

This era of transition, in which the free trade order is wavering and great power competition for technological dominance is intensifying, may well mark the opening act of a second “Tiger Leap” for these two middle powers and for broader regional cooperation and development. Together, South Korea and Singapore are well positioned to create meaningful synergies that benefit the wider Indo-Pacific.

Get to the bottom of the story

Subscribe today and join thousands of diplomats, analysts, policy professionals and business readers who rely on The Diplomat for expert Asia-Pacific coverage.

Get unlimited access to in-depth analysis you won't find anywhere else, from South China Sea tensions to ASEAN diplomacy to India-Pakistan relations. More than 5,000 articles a year.

Unlimited articles and expert analysis

Weekly newsletter with exclusive insights

16-year archive of diplomatic coverage

Ad-free reading on all devices

Support independent journalism

Already have an account? Log in.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s state visit to Singapore this week had great significance amid deepening global uncertainty. It also reflected growing shared enthusiasm for diversifying the two nations’ strategic partnership.

At last year’s summit, Lee said that he found it “hard to understand why South Korea and Singapore had not forged a strategic partnership sooner.” Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, in a contribution to a Korean newspaper, shared similar strategic perceptions, citing a Korean proverb “A piece of white paper is lighter when carried together.” In other words, South Korea and Singapore are stronger and more resilient when they work as one. 

Faced with a hostile geopolitical environment and scarce natural resources, South Korea and Singapore each rose – from postwar ruins and from the shock of being thrust into unwanted independence, respectively. The two countries realized their hope of prosperity by developing human capital, actively embracing an open economy, and unwaveringly pursuing technological innovation. Over 50 years since they established diplomatic relations in 1975, they have stood on the global stage as a middle power with high-income status and strong industrial competitiveness.

Today, however, Seoul and Singapore are both facing new challenges. Wong has warned that as the United States retreats from its role as “global insurer,” the international society is shifting to a messy and unpredictable post-American order. He described Singapore as  a “canary in the coal mine,” one of the first nations to experience the economic fallout of spreading protectionism. 

South Korea, with its own heavy reliance on exports, shares the same sense of urgency. Yet President Lee Jae-myung sees this era of complex transition where international norms and order are shaken as an opportunity, not a crisis. He holds the view that South Korea, as a middle power firmly rooted in its national interests, must strategically leverage the multifaceted dynamics of competition, cooperation, and challenge, and play a more active role in shaping the emerging international order. 

Therefore, for these two countries, which will inevitably suffer the most when the multilateral and liberal economic order falters, it is both a natural consequence and a task of the times to join forces and move forward together.

On March 2, in what may prove a defining moment for both countries, Lee and Wong held their second summit in just four months – this time in Singapore – sending an unambiguous message to the world that the two countries are deepening their strategic alignment at precisely the moment the international order needs it most. Building on the Strategic Partnership established to mark 50 years of diplomatic relations, the two leaders agreed to launch negotiations to upgrade their bilateral free trade agreement, now in its 20th year, and adopted a joint declaration to that effect. 

The proposed FTA upgrade, aimed at responding to far-reaching shifts in trade, economic security, and technological innovation, came alongside five memorandums of understanding across the areas of  artificial intelligence, small modular reactors, the digital sector, and science and technology, together mapping out a blueprint for next-generation industrial cooperation between the two nations.

Yet the summit carries significance that extends well beyond trade, investment, and technology. Lee and Wong made clear that security and regional stability now anchor the bilateral relationship as an equally central pillar. They agreed to expand joint defense technology research and to strengthen cooperation against transnational threats including cyberattacks and online scams. Seoul also pledged active support for Singapore’s upcoming ASEAN chairmanship in 2027. 

Lee took the occasion to express his sincere gratitude to Wong for Singapore’s longstanding constructive role in advancing peace on the Korean Peninsula – a role that includes Singapore’s hosting of the landmark 2018 North Korea–United States summit – and expressed confidence in Singapore’s continued support for the inter-Korean peace process. 

The visit was also seen as an important opportunity to give concrete shape to, and begin implementing in earnest, the vision for the ASEAN-ROK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership announced at the 2025 ASEAN-South Korea Summit.

As the competition for technological hegemony between the United States and China intensifies, Seoul and Singapore are laying the groundwork for strategic cooperation in high-tech fields such as AI. In this context, most notable in this summit was the jointly hosted “AI Connect Summit,” which brought together AI professionals from both sides and launched the Korea-Singapore AI Alliance to significantly expand cooperation in the AI field. 

Together, South Korea and Singapore have the opportunity to move beyond the role of trading partners and emerge as “competitive bridge powers” – co-designing technology standards and bridging ASEAN’s structural gaps with a capacity-building package.

This era of transition, in which the free trade order is wavering and great power competition for technological dominance is intensifying, may well mark the opening act of a second “Tiger Leap” for these two middle powers and for broader regional cooperation and development. Together, South Korea and Singapore are well positioned to create meaningful synergies that benefit the wider Indo-Pacific.

Dr. Wondeuk Cho is the director of the Center for ASEAN-Indian Studies at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS), Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA). His research interests include international relations and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific, especially focusing on Southeast Asia, India and South Asia.

Lee Jae-myung visit to Singapore

Singapore-South Korea relations

© The Diplomat