During President Trump’s visit to South Korea, the governments of the United States and South Korea officially signed the “Technology Prosperity Deal” memorandum on Wednesday, October 29. This agreement signifies a shared strategic goal between the U.S. and South Korea, viewing tech cooperation as the foundation for securing future freedom and prosperity.
According to the memorandum text released by the White House, the agreement focuses on key emerging areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technology, 6G communication, aiming to usher in an “innovation golden age” and promising to remove operational barriers for tech companies in data hosting.
Earlier, the U.S. and Japan also signed a similar cooperation memorandum on Tuesday. The White House highlighted that the U.S. signing TPD with Japan and South Korea is a crucial step in expanding America’s tech leadership globally, enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
The statement emphasized that these bilateral agreements aim to “expand, strengthen, and focus on scientific and technological cooperation with key allies,” enabling the U.S. to further integrate with the unique tech ecosystems of Japan and South Korea, coordinate regulations, set standards, accelerate research and development, and enhance national security.
Michael Kratsios, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, underscored that the Trump administration is redefining America’s tech leadership by advancing bilateral partnerships with Japan and South Korea. He stated that each TPD offers significant opportunities to accelerate scientific discoveries, jointly leading into an innovative new era driven by both U.S. and partner countries.
According to the memorandum, the U.S. and South Korea will collaborate in various specific strategic scientific and technological disciplines within the two core areas. The two countries aim to promote innovative research and development, accelerate AI’s practical applications in fields like science, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology.
This work will be facilitated through joint research opportunities and supported by top research funding institutions such as the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the South Korea National Research Foundation (NRF).
The U.S. and South Korea will strengthen the enforcement of AI computing protection measures and move forward with partnerships between the U.S. AI Standards and Innovation Center and the Korean AI Security Research Institute to promote secure AI innovation and standard setting.
Additionally, efforts will be made to alleviate the operational burden on tech companies and digital application platforms, particularly by eliminating obstacles to innovative data localization hosting frameworks.
Furthermore, initiatives will include advancing AI education programs to nurture children in the digital age, participating in the “Fostering the Future Together” global initiative set up by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump.
The U.S. and South Korea will engage in long-term cooperation on critical technologies to ensure their tech leadership on the global stage. Specific collaboration projects will include:
– Deepening cooperation to protect technology and personnel in key and emerging tech research areas and enhancing threat analysis collaboration.
– Leading allies and partners in adopting stringent practices to promote a trustworthy innovative ecosystem.
– Expanding partnerships in telecom innovation and supply chain resilience, establishing reliable and interoperable supply chains, and conducting joint research and development in 6G-related technologies.
– Emphasizing security in supply chains, intellectual property, and innovation ecosystems, accelerating the identification and patching of vulnerabilities, collaborating on supply chain security to support resilient and healthy economies.
– Advancing trustworthy and interoperable quantum technology standards, strengthening partnerships among major quantum institutions, and ensuring quantum supply chain security.
– Continuing partnership in civil space, aviation, science, and human exploration, including contributions to future “Artemis” missions and the development of the Korean Positioning System (KPS) to ensure compatibility with GPS.
– Strengthening the foundation of bilateral tech cooperation through expanding participation and collaboration in large projects, actively supporting exchanges and cooperation among researchers from both sides.