ASEM I Summit (March 2, 1996 Bangkok)
In 1993, faced with a remarkable development of EC/EU-ROK economic relations, the EU noted that developing bilateral trade and economic relations with the ROK were favorable for the EU. On the political level, the ROK's awareness of the EU was increased by negotiations of the Korea Peninsula Energy Development Organization(KEDO) in 1994 when Korean diplomats actively sought a stronger relationship with the EU. When the ROK government negotiated to conclude a framework agreement with the EU in 1995, it soon agreed to attach a political declaration, which entered into force much earlier than the other aspects of the agreement itself. This agreement initialed shortly before the ASEM I was announced in Bangkok during the first summit. Through ASEM, the ROK was able to strengthen its political and diplomatic presence in the EU and to diversify its choice of foreign policy actors, beyond the U.S. and Japan, in relation to the Korean peninsula.

ASEM II Summit (April 3-4, 1998 London)
When the Asian financial crisis broke out in the late 1990s, President Kim Dae-jung, who took power in 1998 introduced national reconstruction projects by restructuring the Korean economic system. He therefore rebuilt international confidence in the Korean economy, opening up the Korean market to foreign competition, actively seeking foreign investment. In this regard, the ROK government highlighted ASEM II as its first successful exercise in "business diplomacy", reemphasizing international support for its economic reforms. In addition, Koreans came to perceive the ASEM process in a more pragmatic way when the ASEM II endorsed a British proposal for a network of experts to provide technical advice in the financial sector and the creation of an ASEM Trust Fund. This ASEM Trust Fund was created at the World Bank to help finance technical assistance and advice on restructuring the financial sector. As of April 2002, the ROK had received $4,984,800.

ASEM III Summit: Seoul Declaration for Peace on the Korean Peninsula (October 19-21, 2000 Seoul)
The Seoul Summit in 2000 made the first significant breakthrough in political dialogue. The 3rd summit issued the Seoul Declaration for the Peace on the Korean Peninsula. Also, leaders of the member nations welcomed the first inter-Korean summit held in June, 2000. They recognized the importance of engaging North Korea not only on a multilateral level but also suggested more concrete steps such as the establishment of diplomatic relations with North Korea.

1. At the 3rd Asia-Europe Meeting(ASEM 3) in Seoul, leaders discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula in the context of encouraging developments in relations between the Republic of Korea(ROK) and the Democratic Republic of Korea(DPRK). They shared the view that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula were closely linked to those both of the Asia-Pacific region and of the world as a whole.

2. Recognizing the importance of continued dialogue in the resolution of inter-Korean issues, leaders renewed their support for the process of rapprochement and cooperation under way between the ROK and the DPRK, and encouraged both sides to continue building on the success of the summit for the sake of peace and security in the region. In this context, they welcomed the recent positive developments in relations between the DPRK and the United States.

3. In pursuit of this objective, they affirmed ASEM partners' willingness to contribute to measures to build confidence and to enhance peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. They confirmed their support for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization(KEDO). Leaders also underlined the importance of strengthening efforts to improve relations between ASEM, its individual partners and the DPRK through dialogue, people-to-people exchanges, economic links, as well as through DPRK participation in multilateral dialogue.

ASEM IV Summit (September 22-24, 2002 Copenhagen)
ASEM IV in Copenhagen in September 2002 adopted the Political Declaration for Peace on the Korean Peninsula. In the declaration, ASEM reconfirmed the importance of engaging North Korea in the international community through constructive dialogue delivering concrete progress and suggested the resumption of dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea. In particular, the ROK actively pursued its national interest and effectively lobbied during the preparations for ASEM IV in order to insert the suggestions on U.S.-North Korea dialogue into the declaration.

ASEM V Summit (October 7-9, 2004 Hanoi)
The ROK-EU Summit, on October 9 2004, was the second bilateral summit between the ROK and the EU. Many issues were discussed, including the resumption of the Six-Party Talks, ROK's participation in the G8 Global Partnership against Weapons of Mass Destruction(WMD), and the situation in Iraq. Economic issues also featured prominently. The EU reaffirmed its support for the ROK's economic reform course, and welcomed the intensification of bilateral economic and trade relations.

ASEM VI Summit (September 10-11, 2006 Helsinki)
At the 3rd ROK-ASEM Summit which was held during the 6th ASEM summit, the Korean head of state and the EU leaders agreed that bilateral cooperative relations between Korea and the EU have steadily developed since the establishment of official diplomatic ties. Furthermore, they made a positive evaluation of the ROK-EU Framework Agreement and the Joint Declaration on the Political Dialogue signed in October 1996 noting that they have provided an impetus for extending the quantity and quality bilateral collaboration. Hence Korea and the EU have been able to gradually promote a future-oriented partnership in various fields, including politics, foreign affairs, the economy, trade, and science and technology while sharing the basic common value of democracy, human rights and a market economy. It was agreed in the summit that they would continue to work together to further expand and develop such cooperative relations.

The leaders at the summit concurred that there is a greater potential for the two-way trade and investments between Korea and the EU to further grow. The EU is the largest investor in Korea. The Korean head of state and the EU leaders reached an agreement to make joint efforts to expand collaborative relations in the future.

The leaders in the summit also exchanged views on the current situation surrounding Korea and the EU, including the future prospects for the European countries and the efforts by the Korean Government to achieve innovation and economic development. Also on the table were the ROK-EU trade issues as well as Korea's joining in the EU-led massive science and technology projects. The summit participants hoped that bilateral cooperation in trade as well as science and technology would be further expanded in the future.

President Roh Moo-hyun gave positive assessments of the EU contribution to North Korea's reform and opening up by providing consistent support to the ROK's Policy of Peace and Prosperity and offering humanitarian aid to the North. The EU leaders staked out their position on proactive support for a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.