Ambassador Eva Marie Russek has served as Austria’s Ambassador to Korea since September 2025. She studied law in Graz, worked as a research assistant at Rutgers University Law School (USA), and graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. She began her diplomatic career at the Austrian Embassy in The Hague and subsequently held several positions in the Austrian Foreign Ministry, including at Austria’s Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels. She later served as Foreign Policy Adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry. Before taking up her post in Seoul, she was Chief of Protocol at the Austrian Parliament.
The partnership between the Republic of Korea and the European Union has continued to deepen across a wide range of fields. In your view, what achievement best represents the current Korea-EU relationship, and in which areas should the partnership develop further?
The EU-Republic of Korea relationship has made a visible leap in recent years from policy to action. At the 11th EU-Korea Summit in Brussels in June 2026, both sides signed the EU-ROK Digital Trade Agreement and simultaneously launched a new Competitiveness Partnership together with a High-Level Economic Dialogue, deepening cooperation on economic security, trade and industrial policy. This builds i.a. on the Free Trade Agreement that entered into force in 2011 – one of the EU’s most ambitious trade deals – as well as on the EU-ROK Digital Partnership launched in November 2022.
Looking ahead, I believe the greatest potential lies in translating this political architecture into concrete industrial cooperation: semiconductors, secure and diversified supply chains, AI governance, and clean-tech value chains – areas where Korea’s manufacturing scale and the EU’s regulatory and research strength are highly complementary.
At a time of increasing uncertainty in the international order, what roles can the Republic of Korea and European countries play together in promoting peace, security, democracy, and a rules-based international order?
At the June 2026 Summit, EU and Korean leaders explicitly reaffirmed that their partnership reflects shared values, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, democracy, human rights, and open, free and fair trade. As two of the world’s leading trading democracies with no territorial disputes between them, Korea and EU countries share an interest in defending multilateralism, non-proliferation, and a predictable, rules-based trading system at a time when both are exposed to coercive economic pressure and the “weaponization” of supply chains.
Austria brings a particular profile to this effort: as host to the IAEA, the OSCE, and numerous other UN bodies, Vienna has for decades been Europe’s central hub for arms-control and non-proliferation diplomacy. This tradition of mediation and active neutrality is one Austria will also bring to the UN Security Council in 2027/2028, where it intends to focus on the protection of civilians, strengthening peacekeeping operations, and defending the international legal order.
The Republic of Korea and Austria commemorated the 130th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2022, following the establishment of their strategic partnership in 2021. In your view, what has been the most significant development in bilateral relations in recent years, and what should be the next priority for the partnership?
The past five years have been the most active period in the more-than-130-year history of Austria-Korea relations. President Moon Jae-in visited Austria in June 2021 (the first Korean president ever to do so since diplomatic relations were established in 1892) and the relationship was elevated to a Strategic Partnership on that occasion. This momentum carried through the 130th-anniversary commemorations in 2022 and culminated in a dense visit diplomacy in 2023: Prime Minister Han Duck-soo visited Austria in May 2023, followed by Foreign Minister Park Jin’s visit to Salzburg in July 2023, where he noted that the two countries had posted record-high trade volumes for two consecutive years.
The next priority, in my view, is to convert this dense political calendar into deeper economic and technological substance, particularly in future industries such as semiconductors, EV batteries, hydrogen and AI, where both governments have already signaled intent.
Austria is known for its strong base of highly specialized small and medium-sized enterprises, often described as ‘hidden champions,’ as well as its expertise in environmental and renewable energy technologies. Which industries or green technology sectors offer the greatest potential for expanded cooperation with Korean companies?
Austria’s environmental technology sector generates billions of Euros every year, while exporting nearly 72% of its output, making it one of the most internationalized segments of the Austrian economy. A concrete example of a “hidden champion” is Ochsner, a family-run heat-pump manufacturer supplying clients including IKEA and REWE and exporting around 70% of its output, including to Asia. Styria’s “Green Tech Valley” alone hosts around 300 climate-technology and circular-economy firms.
The sectors with the clearest potential for Korean cooperation are, first, green hydrogen; second, heat pumps and building-efficiency technology; and third, waste, water and circular-economy technology — an area where Austrian SMEs are already global exporters.
Cooperation in science, technology & future-oriented industries, including semiconductors, hydrogen, advanced manufacturing, and clean energy, is becoming increasingly important. How do you envision joint research and technological cooperation between Austria and the Republic of Korea developing in the coming years?
Austria and Korea have an established bilateral scientific and technological cooperation agreement, under which the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Programme between Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalization and Korea’s National Research Foundation (NRF) funds two-year joint research projects along with mobility grants. This cooperation is currently being complemented by a dedicated funding track between Austria’s Science Fund and the NRF for projects in artificial intelligence, quantum research and biotechnology.
Given Korea’s strength in applied technologies and advanced manufacturing, and Austria’s internationally recognized excellence in fundamental research and highly specialized industrial innovation, I see considerable potential for expanding joint research in hydrogen technologies, next-generation semiconductor materials, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and AI safety. Building on the expertise of Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) and its HyCentA Research Centre for Hydrogen, as well as Austria’s broader research ecosystem, both countries are well positioned to translate scientific excellence into industrial innovation.
Interviews conducted via email by Hayann Lee (Deputy Director, HUFS Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence)