India-Korea Relations : News and Updates

EAM S Jaishankar meets South Korea President Lee Jae Myung in New Delhi | DD News On Air

www.newsonair.gov.in www.newsonair.gov.in

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar met the President of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, in New Delhi today. In a social media post, Dr S. Jaishankar lauded the South Korean President’s commitment to deepen bilateral relations across multiple domains. He also expressed confidence that his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow will further strengthen both countries’ special strategic Partnership.

 
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung heads into talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra ‌Modi in New Delhi on Monday, aiming for a big boost in economic cooperation, particularly in areas such as shipbuilding.

It is the first South Korean presidential state visit to India in eight years.

"The level of economic cooperation between South Korea and India is still very low," Lee said on Sunday at a dinner meeting with members of the Korean community in New Delhi.

"Going forward, we will expand that space and ⁠make the relationship between South Korea and India completely different from what it is now."

The two countries are seeking to improve their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the aim of nearly doubling bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030 from $25.7 billion last year, according to presidential adviser Wi Sung-lac.

During his stay, Lee will also take part in business events with corporate leaders. Other areas where the countries might work together include finance, artificial intelligence and defence, Wi said.

SEOUL LOOKS TO NEW DELHI FOR NAPHTHA​

Lee said on Sunday that supply chain instability and global economic strains linked to the Iran war will make the countries "the most important strategic partners" for each other. He also described ‌India ⁠as no longer just a consumer market, but a key country in global production and supply chains.

Last month, South Korea urgently asked India to expand naphtha supplies, seeking to cushion potential disruption from Middle East tensions.

India accounted for about 8% of South Korea's naphtha imports last year. South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said greater imports could also help ease trade imbalances ⁠between the two countries.

South Korea had a $12.8 billion trade surplus last year, with exports worth $19.2 billion and imports of $6.4 billion, according to Korea International Trade Association data.

In a policy seminar at South Korea's parliament last week, Maeng Hyun-chul, a research fellow at ⁠Seoul National University's Asia Center, noted India's longstanding complaint of a widening trade deficit with South Korea and said that political ties had not kept pace with commercial ties.

He said shipbuilding could emerge as an area for ⁠greater cooperation because it matches India's priority on job creation while drawing on South Korean industrial strengths. Food and consumer sectors linked to the popularity of Korean culture could also be areas for growth, he added.

Lee will be visiting Vietnam after India.
 
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_Anonymous_ said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2046950864276140385

https://twitter.com/x/status/2046950867396710733

https://twitter.com/x/status/2046950870345298164

Excellent article on how the CEPA / FTA we signed with both Japan & RoK has benefited them more than us. Finally the Modi government has decided to do something about it.

Do remember all these FTAs were signed during Mauni Amavasya .And he's supposed to be one of the brightest economists we've had .
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Quite saddening to be honest. Similar cases of lop sided trade exist for a few countries in SEA as well. Most view India as a market for shipping goods to and nothing more. The performance of both the Commerce Ministry and MEA has been subpar when it comes to trying to get the balling rolling on corrections.
 
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Shan said:
Quite saddening to be honest. Similar cases of lop sided trade exist for a few countries in SEA as well. Most view India as a market for shipping goods to and nothing more. The performance of both the Commerce Ministry and MEA has been subpar when it comes to trying to get the balling rolling on corrections.
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Apparently the Ministry of Commerce & the MEA then were of the opinion FTA's were the future & went on a signing spree while the GoI took their advice & neglecting mfg at home.

To make matters worse they brought in legislation which not only made it difficult to procure land for establishing those factories but also made it very expensive reportedly 3x the market price after the said land was earmarked for industry which in itself pushed up the evaluation rapidly as soon as the announcement was made public .

Won't get into the details here save to say you need to check out the land acquisition act passed during the UPA regime.

Modi tried to undo it in the first couple of years of his first term IIRC but ran into a wall of opposition & had to abandon plans. Since then the GoI's working around those plans where they can.

Result - many of our industries shifted mfg to ASEAN countries & exported from there. The previous CMD of L&T went on record plenty of times in the UPA era & later telling the press that this policy was suicidal for Indian mfg & that L&T itself had shifted some of its mfg there.

We kept quiet on ASEAN given the RCEP & Geo politics especially in our part of the world given China's deep connections vis a vis their supply chains with some ASEAN countries.

I don't think we'd continue in the same vein especially since we've become a dumping ground for goods from Malaysia & Thailand earlier & now increasingly from Vietnam .

These were the first shots fired against RoK. Gradually we'd have to bring in more balanced FTAs thru renegotiations with all those we're having an imbalanced trade with especially ASEAN .
 
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_Anonymous_ said:
To make matters worse they brought in legislation which not only made it difficult to procure land for establishing those factories but also made it very expensive reportedly 3x the market price after the said land was earmarked for industry which in itself pushed up the evaluation rapidly as soon as the announcement was made public .

Won't get into the details here save to say you need to check out the land acquisition act passed during the UPA regime.

Modi tried to undo it in the first couple of years of his first term IIRC but ran into a wall of opposition & had to abandon plans. Since then the GoI's working around those plans where they can.
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www.newindianexpress.com

POSCO set for Odisha comeback with JSW Steel JV for steel plant

BHUBANESWAR: In a major boost to the state’s steel vision, JSW Steel and South Korean steel major POSCO have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement to establish
www.newindianexpress.com www.newindianexpress.com

In a major boost to the state’s steel vision, JSW Steel and South Korean steel major POSCO have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement to establish a 6 million tonne per annum (MTPA) integrated greenfield steel plant in Dhenkanal district. The agreement was formalised in New Delhi on Monday.

The project signals a significant comeback for POSCO, nearly eight years after it exited the ambitious Paradip steel project in 2017. The South Korean major had earlier signed a $12 billion MoU with the state government in 2005 to build a 12 MTPA plant near Paradip. Tipped to be one of the largest-ever foreign direct investment proposal for the country at the time, the project could not see the light of the day due to prolonged delays in land acquisition and environmental concerns forcing the company to withdraw.
 
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_Anonymous_ said:
Apparently the Ministry of Commerce & the MEA then were of the opinion FTA's were the future & went on a signing spree while the GoI took their advice & neglecting mfg at home.

To make matters worse they brought in legislation which not only made it difficult to procure land for establishing those factories but also made it very expensive reportedly 3x the market price after the said land was earmarked for industry which in itself pushed up the evaluation rapidly as soon as the announcement was made public .
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Yep. LARR 2013. What a horrible farewell gift. It is still giving dividends to this day even in strategic infrastructure projects.
 
spice said:
www.newindianexpress.com

POSCO set for Odisha comeback with JSW Steel JV for steel plant

BHUBANESWAR: In a major boost to the state’s steel vision, JSW Steel and South Korean steel major POSCO have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement to establish
www.newindianexpress.com www.newindianexpress.com

In a major boost to the state’s steel vision, JSW Steel and South Korean steel major POSCO have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement to establish a 6 million tonne per annum (MTPA) integrated greenfield steel plant in Dhenkanal district. The agreement was formalised in New Delhi on Monday.

The project signals a significant comeback for POSCO, nearly eight years after it exited the ambitious Paradip steel project in 2017. The South Korean major had earlier signed a $12 billion MoU with the state government in 2005 to build a 12 MTPA plant near Paradip. Tipped to be one of the largest-ever foreign direct investment proposal for the country at the time, the project could not see the light of the day due to prolonged delays in land acquisition and environmental concerns forcing the company to withdraw.
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The Koreans thought this was like what it used to be 2 centuries ago in India where they came in , exploited local conditions to establish a steel factory & exported it back home to RoK & across the world where ever Koreans required it.

Why ? Coz of this 👇

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Permission was granted in 2005 by the then UPA government to POSCO to set up a 12 MTPA in Odisha, the biggest steel plant in India then & IIRC the biggest steel plant Korea would ever erect overseas.

That ran into multiple problems including local opposition eventually leading POSCO to back out.
 
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