President Yoon Seok-youl stated on July 30 that he hopes South Korea and Chile can join hands as true friends, or "amigos," to create a better future for both nations.
Following a summit with Chilean President José Antonio Kast in Santiago, Yoon emphasized that South Korea and Chile share a special and valuable history as long-time allies and neighbors facing the Pacific. The two countries agreed to reactivate the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) committee for the first time in a decade and to expand cooperation in key mineral supply chains, infrastructure, defense, maritime security, Antarctic research, and cultural exchanges.
Yoon noted that Chile was the first South American country to recognize South Korea in 1949 and became its first FTA partner in 2004. He highlighted that trade between the two nations has quadrupled in the past 20 years since the FTA was established. He also mentioned plans to enhance cooperation in lithium and copper supply chains based on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on mineral resources, and expressed support for the Chacao Bridge, a landmark project led by a consortium headed by Hyundai Engineering & Construction. Yoon invited President Kast and his wife to visit South Korea soon.
Below is the full text of President Yoon's joint press statement with President Kast.
Esteemed President Kast,
And the people of Chile,
I sincerely thank you for the warm welcome extended to me and our delegation.
As the President of South Korea, I am very pleased to visit Chile again after 11 years.
Although South Korea and Chile are geographically distant, we are long-time allies with a special and valuable history, and we are neighbors facing the Pacific.
In 1949, Chile was the first South American country to recognize South Korea. In 2004, South Korea chose Chile as its first FTA partner. Since the FTA was signed, trade between our two countries has quadrupled in 20 years, proving that our strategic choices were correct.
Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1962, South Korea and Chile have expanded cooperation in various fields, including trade, investment, minerals, infrastructure, Antarctic research, and culture, based on our complementary strengths. We have also closely collaborated on the international stage, grounded in shared values such as democracy.
During our meeting today, President Kast and I reaffirmed our joint commitment to further strengthen our bilateral relationship and discussed specific cooperation measures.
I would like to highlight the key outcomes of our discussions today.
First, we agreed to further expand trade and investment cooperation for mutual growth.
To this end, we will reactivate the Korea-Chile FTA committee for the first time in a decade to review trade and investment issues and discuss ways to enhance our trade relations, including improvements to the FTA.
Based on the "Investment Cooperation MOU" signed today, we will actively support efforts to discover investment opportunities and exchanges in strategic sectors such as key minerals and energy.
We also exchanged in-depth views on cooperation in major economic frameworks such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Pacific Alliance (PA), and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA).
Second, we agreed to actively pursue mutually beneficial and forward-looking cooperation in strategic areas such as key mineral supply chains, infrastructure, public safety, and defense industries.
As the world's top producer of copper and lithium, Chile is clearly a natural and ideal partner for South Korea, a leader in advanced industries such as semiconductors and batteries, in building key mineral supply chains.
We will expand the scope of our cooperation based on the "Mineral Resources Partnership MOU" to cover the entire mineral supply chain and enhance specific cooperation in information exchange, technology collaboration, and human exchanges.
South Korean companies have actively contributed to infrastructure development in Chile over the past 20 years, and they are currently constructing the Chacao Bridge, the largest national project in Chile and the first four-lane suspension bridge in South America.
Both leaders agreed to ensure the smooth progress of the Chacao Bridge construction, establishing it as a landmark project of our cooperation while also benefiting the daily lives and economic activities of the Chilean people through government-level support and active collaboration.
We share the understanding that the primary responsibility of our nations is to protect the lives and safety of our citizens, and we agreed to expand cooperation between our police and coast guard authorities to combat transnational crime and eliminate illegal maritime activities.
Furthermore, we recognized the importance of establishing a solid foundation for deepening cooperation in defense and shipbuilding and agreed to continue discussions on this matter.
Third, we agreed to further expand scientific and technological cooperation and human and cultural exchanges between our two countries.
We have explored Antarctica together, a shared heritage of humanity. We have also conducted astronomical research while observing the universe from the Atacama Desert in northern Chile.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Chile for its active support of South Korea's Antarctic base activities. I look forward to continued active and sustained cooperation from Chile to ensure the safety of our researchers.
We agreed that it is important to strengthen human and cultural exchanges, which form a solid foundation for Korea-Chile relations, and we will double our efforts in this regard.
Recently, there has been a growing interest in Korean culture in Chile, with K-Pop, K-dramas, and high-quality, competitive K-food and K-beauty becoming trends.
We will continue to expand government-level support to enhance the Chilean people's interest in our culture, which can foster cultural intimacy and further activate exchanges between our two countries.
Finally, we agreed to closely cooperate for peace, stability, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community.
During our meeting today, I requested Chile's unwavering support for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula.
President Kast expressed his commitment to work together for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
We also agreed to closely cooperate for the successful hosting of the 4th United Nations Ocean Conference in 2028 and the 2032 APEC Summit in Chile.
In particular, the 4th United Nations Ocean Conference, which our two countries will co-host, will be a very important venue for gathering international consensus on marine governance, including the conservation and sustainable use of marine environments and resources.
Distinguished guests,
I hope that South Korea and Chile can join hands as true friends, "amigos," to create a better future for both nations.
Once again, I thank you on behalf of the people of South Korea for your warm hospitality. I hope that esteemed President Kast and our First Lady will visit South Korea soon, and I look forward to seeing you again in Korea, where we can extend similar hospitality.
Let us work together for the shared prosperity of South Korea and Chile and for our everlasting friendship.
Thank you. Muchas Gracias!
* This article has been translated by AI.
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