While visiting Malaysia to attend the 2025 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit, President Lee Jae-myung said on the 27th (local time) that "along with an ambitious goal of achieving $300 billion in annual trade between Korea and ASEAN, I propose launching negotiations to improve the Korea-ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA) as a first step toward that goal." He also said that, in response to online scam crimes that have emerged as a regionwide issue across ASEAN following the "Cambodia job scam," Korea will respond actively through joint investigations between the Korean National Police Agency and ASEANAPOL.
Visiting Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on a one-night, two-day schedule, President Lee said this in an op-ed titled "Korea and ASEAN, building a joint future of peace together" contributed to the local outlet The Star, saying, "Korea will be a springboard for ASEAN's growth and innovation." He also said Korea will strengthen technological cooperation and talent development between the two sides in the fields of ▲ AI (artificial intelligence) ▲ digital transformation ▲ health care ▲ energy, adding, "The Korea-ASEAN Digital Academy, which is also scheduled to operate in Malaysia, will be a meaningful step leading these efforts."
He also presented the "CSP" concept to advance the Korea-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership. The CSP vision President Lee outlined is "Contributor for Dreams and Hope," "Springboard for Growth and Innovation," and "Partner for Peace and Stability."
In particular, he said Korea will actively respond to regional peace, including responses to transnational crimes such as online scams, as well as disasters, calamities, and maritime security. To that end, he said Korea will strengthen cooperation with regional institutions such as ASEANAPOL and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), and expand maritime security exchanges. Through investigative cooperation on scam crimes between the Korean National Police Agency and ASEANAPOL, the plan is to eradicate organized criminal compounds. He added, "These Korean efforts will greatly contribute to securing peace and safety in the region."
In this regard, in his opening remarks at the Korea-ASEAN summit that day, President Lee said, "Recently, organized criminal compounds such as scam centers have been spreading, particularly in border areas that are blind spots for law enforcement," and added, "The Korean National Police Agency will eradicate organized criminal compounds through investigative cooperation with ASEANAPOL and will step up cooperation so that transnational crimes have no foothold in this region." He also said, "We will also seek to resolve the problem through close criminal and judicial cooperation by each ASEAN country and at the ASEAN level."