South Korea has joined a European research and development network, becoming the first non-regional partner country in the world's largest R&D organization. 

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Wednesday, EUREKA, a publicly funded, intergovernmental network, approved South Korea's membership in October and officially signed off on it on Tuesday. 

Under the Korea- EUREKA Partnership Agreement, South Korea will now have voting rights on major policy decisions and be exempt from the triennial membership renewals.

EUREKA is the world's largest R&D network which aims to form a community of market-oriented business technology projects. Currently 45 countries are engaged in its activities. 

South Korea was the first non-European country to join as an associate member in 2009, and has since provided about 88 billion won to 111 projects.