The agreements announced during President Lee Jae Myung’s June 10 summit in Brussels suggest that the European Union increasingly views South Korea as more than a conventional free trade partner.

The Digital Trade Agreement attracted the most attention, but it was only one part of a broader shift in the relationship. The agreements announced in Brussels suggest that Seoul and Brussels increasingly view economic cooperation through the lens of economic security, technological competitiveness and geopolitical uncertainty.

That shift does not mean that South Korea is becoming an insider in Europe’s economic system or that bilateral trade disputes have disappeared. Seoul’s