Relations between Taiwan and South Korea have warmed across the board in recent years, with bilateral trade and technology cooperation simultaneously reaching record highs — good news for both countries' technology industries and for the democratic camp.

• South Korea is now Taiwan's third-largest trading partner, while Taiwan is South Korea's fifth-largest; bilateral trade surpassed US$90 billion in 2025.
• Compared with 1992, the scale of Taiwan-Korea trade has grown 26-fold.
• In the AI industry, the two countries have shifted from competing with each other to complementary cooperation, becoming a core part of the global supply chain.
• In the face of US-China confrontation and pressure from the "red supply chain," Taiwan-Korea cooperation is seen as key to stabilising the global AI supply chain.
• The two sides have followed similar paths to democratisation and stand together on the front line resisting authoritarian expansion.

Outlook: Driven by AI demand, economic and technological cooperation between Taiwan and South Korea is expected to deepen further, with trade volumes likely to set another record.