President Lee Jae-myung, who is currently on a tour of the United States and three South American countries, departed for Argentina, his final destination in South America, on the afternoon of the 30th (local time) after wrapping up his schedule in Chile following Brazil.

During his visit to Chile, President Lee focused on advancing discussions on expanding cooperation for critical minerals such as copper and lithium, as well as modernizing the South Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Earlier in the day, President Lee held a summit with Chilean President Jose Antonio Castro. During a joint press conference following the meeting, President Lee stated, "South Korea and Chile have agreed to discuss ways to enhance trade relations, including improvements to the bilateral FTA, and to activate the South Korea-Chile FTA Free Trade Commission for this purpose."

He also emphasized, "Chile, a resource-rich nation that ranks first in the world in copper production and first in lithium reserves, and South Korea, a leader in high-tech industries such as semiconductors and batteries, are ideal partners for building a critical mineral supply chain." He added that they would strive to strengthen exchange and cooperation in the mineral sector based on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on mineral resource partnership signed that day.

Following the summit, he attended a business roundtable event to encourage exchange and active investment between businesses of both countries.

In Argentina, President Lee is scheduled to carry out events including a summit with Argentine President Javier Milei, laying a wreath at Plaza San Martin to honor Argentina's independence hero, and holding a dinner meeting with local Korean compatriots.

(Photo: Yonhap News)