South Korea, Chile Hold Summit... Agree to Upgrade FTA and Enhance Mineral Cooperation

[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung held a summit with Chilean President José Antonio Kast in Chile. The two leaders agreed to upgrade the South Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement, which was first signed in 2004, and strengthen cooperation on critical minerals essential for advanced industries, such as copper and lithium.

Reporter Kang Cheongwan has the details from Santiago.

[Reporter]

President Lee Jae-myung arrives at the Chilean Presidential Palace and greets Chilean President José Antonio Kast with a handshake.

The two leaders inspected the Chilean honor guard, and the South Korean national anthem played at the palace.

At President Kast's suggestion, both leaders posed by making finger hearts, a trend that first originated in South Korea.

The summit's main agenda focused on upgrading the free trade agreement between South Korea and Chile, originally signed in 2004.

As the South Korea-Chile FTA was South Korea's first-ever free trade agreement with another country, the need to modernize the pact has been raised over the 22 years since its implementation.

[President Lee Jae-myung : We have agreed to restart the South Korea-Chile FTA Joint Committee for the first time in 10 years and discuss ways to promote bilateral trade relations, including upgrading the South Korea-Chile FTA.]

[José Antonio Kast / President of Chile : The South Korea-Chile FTA was the first free trade agreement between a South American nation and an Asian nation. Chile considers this a great honor.]

Five memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were also signed, including one to strengthen supply chain cooperation for mineral resources with Chile, which has the world's largest reserves of copper and lithium, key raw materials for advanced industries.

Following the summit, President Lee attended a South Korea-Chile business event featuring executives from POSCO, Hyundai Motor, Korea Zinc, and Naver, where they discussed ways to boost bilateral investment and cooperation.

Having concluded his summit with the Chilean president, President Lee is now heading to Argentina, the final stop of his South American tour.

(Video by Jeong Sang-bo | Video Editing by Won Hyeong-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.