Relationship dossier
Australia
South Korea
Relationship assessment
Australia and South Korea maintain a broad strategic partnership grounded in trade and defence cooperation.
Australia toward South Korea
+55Australia has pursued bilateral trade and strategic cooperation with South Korea through the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the 2021 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Australian defence cooperation with South Korea includes government-level engagement on security and defence.
South Korea toward Australia
+55South Korea has pursued trade and strategic cooperation with Australia through the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the 2021 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In 2021, South Korea agreed to supply K9 self-propelled howitzers to Australia under a major defence contract.
Overall relationship
+55The relationship has a durable institutional basis in the bilateral free trade agreement and the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, alongside sustained defence engagement and significant defence-industry cooperation. These features support a substantially cooperative relationship, without implying a formal mutual-defence alliance.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Australia and South Korea maintain a substantial partnership spanning trade, defence and strategic cooperation. The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement has supported economic ties since entering into force in 2014, and the governments elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021. Defence cooperation includes a major South Korean defence-equipment contract with Australia.
Key developments
The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement entered into force.
The two governments established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
South Korea and Australia concluded a contract for South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzers for the Australian Army.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of defence and critical-minerals cooperation may change over time.