SANTIAGO — South Korean President Lee Jae‑myung and Chilean President José Antonio Kast announced on July 30, following a summit at La Moneda Palace in Santiago, that the two countries have agreed to restart the long‑stalled joint committee mechanism of their bilateral Free Trade Agreement, aiming to modernise the 22‑year‑old trade pact. This is the first visit by a South Korean president to Chile in 11 years.
The Korea‑Chile FTA, which took effect on April 1, 2004, was South Korea’s first ever free trade agreement. The two sides have been holding upgrade negotiations since 2018, with nine rounds of working‑level talks held up to April 2024. However, the joint committee – the highest ministerial decision‑making body under the agreement – has not met since 2015. The decision to restart the committee signals a new phase in the upgrade process.
At a joint press conference, President Lee said: “In 2004, South Korea chose Chile as its first FTA partner. Bilateral trade has quadrupled over the past two decades, proving that our strategic choice was correct.” He stressed that the agreement’s update “must reflect new realities” – not only revising trade rules but also expanding business opportunities. The upgrade talks will cover new issues such as digital trade, artificial intelligence, clean technologies and critical minerals supply chains.
President Kast said the two sides agreed to “restart the Korea‑Chile FTA committee – which last met in 2015 – and jointly explore a roadmap for modernising and strengthening the bilateral relationship.” He described the Korea‑Chile FTA as one of the earliest FTAs between Asia and South America, calling it a “great honour” for Chile.
Beyond trade, the two countries signed five memoranda of understanding covering critical minerals, public security, polar research, maritime safety, and investment. The most central was the Memorandum of Understanding on Mineral Resources Partnership, which upgrades the existing bilateral minerals committee to the ministerial level and establishes a new working‑level dialogue channel headed by director‑general level officials. Cooperation will cover the entire value chain of strategic minerals such as lithium and copper, from resource development to downstream applications.
President Lee noted: “Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and holds the world’s largest lithium reserves; South Korea is a global leader in semiconductors, batteries and other cutting‑edge industries. The two countries are natural and ideal partners in building a critical minerals supply chain.” President Kast responded with a Korean proverb: “‘Even a piece of paper feels lighter when two people carry it together’ – that is how we see our critical minerals cooperation today: Chile and South Korea jointly addressing challenges to provide supply chain stability for the world.”
The two leaders also reached consensus on infrastructure, defence and shipbuilding cooperation. South Korea pledged support for Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s project on the Chacao Channel Bridge – South America’s first four‑lane suspension bridge. The two sides also agreed to expand coordination between police and coastguard agencies on transnational crime and maritime security. President Lee requested Chile’s support for South Korea’s efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula, with President Kast pledging to “work together for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.”
The summit was President Lee’s second stop on his Latin America tour, following Brazil. (End)
Sources: Yonhap News Agency, The Korea Herald, The Korea Times, Pulse (South Korea)