The European Commission and EU Inter-Institutional Dynamics in the Relationship with the Republic of Korea

This contribution looks at EU-Korea relations from an EU institutional perspective. It investigates whether the traditionally leading role of the European Commission in the diplomacy with the Republic of Korea has been affected since the implementation of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement of 2011. We argue that the Commission’s position vis-à-vis other institutions, most notably the Council and the European Parliament, continues to be dominant. This mainly has to do with the predominance of technical-economic issues and the lack of politicization in the relations with Korea. Given that there are no fundamental disputes on core values, the Commission—with its information asymmetry advantage—remains in the driver’s seat, even though its position is not as unassailable as it has been before.