Parties agree to finalize Korea-ASEAN IP implementation arrangement; office pledges to spread K-IP practices and protect K-brands
South Korea's intellectual property cooperation with ASEAN nations is set to deepen as the two sides agreed to advance the spread of K-IP practices and strengthen protection of K-brands. The Korean Intellectual Property Office has maintained close ties with six ASEAN countries, holding annual senior-level meetings since signing an IP cooperation MOU in 2018.
The office said it discussed intellectual property cooperation with ASEAN member states at the 9th Korea-ASEAN IP Senior Officials' Meeting, held Wednesday (local time) at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore.
Participating countries included Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and East Timor — six member states in total.
At the meeting, South Korea and ASEAN agreed to swiftly conclude a "Korea-ASEAN IP Implementation Arrangement," a cooperation document covering AI-based IP administration, IP protection and enforcement, examination cooperation, and IP finance. The two sides also discussed measures to protect K-brands.
They also agreed to identify new cooperation projects reflecting ASEAN's needs — including IP workforce development and patent big data-based research and development, known as IP-R&D — and to actively pursue them through the Korea-ASEAN Cooperation Fund and other channels.
Deputy Commissioner Jeong Yeon-woo introduced the "K-Brand Government Certification System," a joint government-industry initiative designed to protect South Korean exporters and overseas consumers from counterfeit goods, and requested cooperation from ASEAN member states. Jeong also asked member states to make active use of information on suspected bad-faith trademark applications provided by Korean companies in their trademark examination processes. Member states expressed agreement and pledged to strengthen cooperation on K-brand protection.
On the sidelines of the senior officials' meeting, the office held bilateral talks the same day with Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Cambodia and Denmark, and continued with Vietnam on Thursday.
With Singapore and Cambodia, the office revised and signed MOUs aimed at improving the convenience of patent applications and registrations for South Korean companies. With Indonesia, the Philippines and others, officials discussed specific follow-up measures for IP cooperation MOUs concluded at summit meetings.
Talks with Vietnam covered bilateral cooperation on countering bad-faith trademark preemption and exchanging IP data.
Also on Wednesday, Jeong delivered a keynote address at Singapore IP Week 2026 on the theme "Building a New IP Paradigm in the AI Era," examining the changes, challenges and opportunities that generative AI has brought to the IP ecosystem and introducing South Korea's AI-based IP administration innovation strategy, known as IP-AX.
"ASEAN is a key trading partner for South Korea and a region where hallyu is spreading actively, making it critically important to our economy," Jeong said. "We will strengthen cooperation with ASEAN to resolve difficulties faced by our companies — such as the distribution of K-brand counterfeits and unauthorized trademark preemption — while continuing to spread advanced K-IP administration practices, including AI-based IP administration innovation, patent examination, IP finance and IP workforce development."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
