The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Korea announced on the 26th that they will co-host the 'EU-Korea Eco-Design Cooperation Forum' at COEX in Seoul from July 2nd to 3rd. This forum is the core event of the '2025 Circular Economy Festival' and will focus on policies related to eco-design and digital product passports (DPP) and cooperation between industries.
This event was designed to discuss sustainable product design based on eco-design, the direction of introducing the 'digital product passport' as an institutional foundation to support it, and the possibility of policy linkage and technological cooperation between the two parties.
Ecodesign refers to design that takes environmental impact into account throughout the entire process from product planning to disposal, and the European Union introduced the 'Ecodesign Regulation for Sustainable Products (ESPR)' in 2024 to institutionalize this. The regulation will expand the existing policy, which was limited to energy-related products, to apply to most physical products, and will be implemented in stages starting in 2026.
The Digital Product Passport (DPP), a key element of the Ecodesign Regulation, is a system that digitally integrates information on the product’s raw materials, carbon footprint, repairability, and recyclability. The main purpose is to transparently disclose information on the entire product life cycle and encourage sustainable consumption and production.
The Korean government is also promoting the introduction of the 'K-EcoDesign' policy to enhance resource efficiency and sustainability, and is seeking policy linkages with the EU to ensure interoperability in the digital product passport system.
On the first day of the forum, July 2, a policy session will be held with the participation of government and research institute officials from both sides, and Ambassador Maria Castillo Fernandez of the Delegation of the EU to Korea and President Lee Sang-mok of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology will present policy frameworks and cooperation plans related to eco-design.
On July 3, an industry session will be held focusing on industries closely related to the application of digital product passports, such as electronics, textiles, and batteries. In this session, industry leaders and industry organizations will share the latest application cases and technology trends, and discuss opportunities for cooperation at the private level.
This forum will be co-hosted by the Korea-EU Green Partnership Program and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), and approximately 600 people, including policymakers, industry, academia, research institutes, and NGOs from both sides, are expected to attend.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the EU Delegation expect that this forum will serve as an important opportunity for the practical implementation of the Korea-EU Green Partnership launched in 2023 and the Digital Partnership concluded in 2022.
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