President Lee Jae-myung Arrives in Chile to Discuss Strengthening Cooperation, Including FTA

President Lee Jae-myung, currently on a tour of the United States and South America, has arrived in Santiago, the capital of Chile, as the third stop of his trip.

President Lee will first hold a dinner meeting with local Korean residents in the area this afternoon.

Starting tonight, Korea time (30th), he will lay a wreath at the statue of Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile's founding hero, and then hold a summit with President José Antonio Kast of Chile's newly launched administration.

An official welcome ceremony at the presidential palace, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony, and an official luncheon are also scheduled.

After attending the Korea-Chile Business Roundtable where business leaders from both countries will meet, his official two-day, one-night visit to Chile will conclude.

President Lee is scheduled to immediately depart for Argentina, his next destination.

Wi Sung-lac, Director of the National Security Office, stated during a briefing on the 22nd, "Chile is our very first free trade agreement (FTA) partner," adding, "We will discuss the modernization of the FTA."

In addition, discussions regarding supply chains are expected to take place with Chile, which ranks first in the world in reserves of copper and lithium, key minerals for advanced industries.

Ahead of his visit to Chile, President Lee wrote on X (formerly Twitter) the previous day, "Chile is a close and important nation to South Korea, as it is the first country with which South Korea concluded an FTA," adding, "I look forward to meeting with President Kast."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.