President Lee Jae-myung held his first phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the 17th, agreeing to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong of the presidential office noted this during an afternoon written briefing.
According to Spokesperson Kang, President Erdoğan congratulated President Lee on his inauguration, stating, "We pay tribute to the restoration of democracy in Korea and the resilience of the Korean people, and Turkey has a high interest in developing its relations with Korea, a long-time ally."
President Lee responded, "I am pleased that we have continually developed our bilateral relations based on the historical ties forged through Korea's participation in the Korean War."
Spokesperson Kang explained, "The two leaders have decided to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, noting the close economic cooperation through expanded trade and investment thus far and suggesting progress in practical cooperation in areas such as defense, defense industry, nuclear power, and green (eco-friendly) energy moving forward."