For the first time since President Lee Jae Myung took office, South Korea and Russia will engage in a semi-official (1.5-track) dialogue. This meeting is noteworthy as it marks the first substantive discussion on exchange measures with Russia under the Lee administration’s pragmatic diplomacy approach.
According to diplomatic sources, the Korea-Russia Dialogue (KRD) will host the 2025 Korea-Russia Dialogue Policy Seminar: Business Roundtable on Key Cooperation Areas in Russia on Friday. This closed-door event will bring together experts from various fields, including diplomacy, economics, law, and academia, to thoroughly discuss challenges faced by companies entering the Russian market and explore potential future collaborations. The KRD was established in 2008 when Korea-Russia relations were elevated to a strategic cooperative partnership.
The Korean delegation includes Lee Kyu Hyung, the KRD’s Korean co-chair and former ambassador to Russia (now an advisor at Samsung Global Research), Kim Gi Hyun, Executive Vice President from the International Cooperation Group at the Korea International Trade Association, former ambassadors to Russia Lee Seok Bae and Woo Yoon Keun (advisors at Kim & Chang law firm), and Baek Ju Hyun, former ambassador to Kazakhstan (advisor at Sejong law firm). Russian Ambassador to South Korea, Georgy Zinovyev, will represent the Russian side.
The seminar will address topics such as “Past and Future of Korea-Russia Economic Cooperation and Major Business Challenges” (Session 1) and “Current Issues and Precautions for Entering Key Sectors in Russia” (Session 2), focusing on the needs of Korean companies as they work to rebuild ties with Russia. Session 1 will feature presentations from representatives of companies already operating in Russia, as well as those from promising sectors for potential cooperation.
This 1.5-track dialogue is seen as a diplomatic approach centered on practical economic cooperation. For Russia, it presents an opportunity to gauge Korean companies’ interest in market entry as both sides look to resume exchanges and partnerships.
President Lee has pledged to actively protect the rights and interests of South Korean citizens and businesses by maintaining stable relations with Russia as part of his foreign policy agenda. The previous 1.5-track dialogue under the KRD framework took place in March, before Lee’s administration took office, suggesting that this meeting will also allow the Russian side to assess the new government’s policies and plans indirectly.
Doo Jinho, director of the Eurasia Research Center at the Korea Researcg Institute for National Strategy, emphasized that the upcoming Korea-Russia dialogue represents a private sector-led 1.5-track diplomatic effort to restore economic cooperation since President Lee took office. He noted that proactive diplomatic initiatives, such as reestablishing communication channels between government authorities, should be carried out in the future.