President Lee Jae-myung, who is touring three South American countries after San Francisco, on the 30th (local time) agreed with Chile to modernize the free trade agreement (FTA) and expand cooperation on supply chains for critical minerals such as copper and lithium. The main point is to broaden Korea-Chile economic cooperation, which had focused on trade in goods, into new industries such as digital trade, artificial intelligence (AI), and clean technology.
On this day at La Moneda Palace in Santiago, Chile, President Lee held a summit with President José Antonio Kast and signed a total of five memorandums of understanding (MOUs). Taking this meeting as an opportunity, the MOUs concluded by the two governments and agencies are ▲ mineral resources partnership MOU ▲ public security cooperation MOU ▲ polar research cooperation MOU (revised) ▲ maritime safety and security cooperation MOU ▲ investment cooperation MOU.
In particular, the Joint Committee on Mineral Resources Partnership will be elevated to the "Minister"-level, its meetings will be regularized, and support will be provided for the local entry of our corporations in key mineral sectors such as copper and lithium, which are essential for semiconductor manufacturing.
Cheong Wa Dae is noting that the signing of these MOUs has enhanced the stability of "mineral supply" that is essential for advanced industries in an era of global supply chain instability. Chile is the world's No. 1 and No. 2 producer of copper and lithium, respectively. Copper underpins AI data centers that support power infrastructure, and lithium is an essential battery material. Cheong Wa Dae said, "Chile's abundant mineral resources and Korea's advanced industrial base will meet to form a competitive value chain from mineral development and processing to advanced manufacturing."
Chile was the first country with which Korea concluded an FTA in 2004. As the trade environment has changed significantly over the 22 years since, the need to modernize the FTA has been consistently raised. Taking this meeting as an opportunity, discussions are expected to be held to increase the Chilean market accessibility of Korean manufactured goods such as electronics and to promote cultural cooperation.
According to Cheong Wa Dae, bilateral trade grew fourfold from about $1.6 billion (2.3 trillion won) in 2003 to $6.4 billion in 2024. Korea mainly exports petroleum products ($419 million), passenger cars ($243 million), and trucks ($98 million) to Chile. At the same time, it mainly imports copper ore and concentrates ($1.464 billion), refined copper and alloys ($1.109 billion), and lithium carbonate ($378 million) from Chile.
President Lee said, "Chile, which has abundant resources such as copper and lithium, and Korea, which has competitiveness in advanced industries, are indispensable cooperation partners for each other," and added, "Taking this mineral resources partnership MOU as an opportunity, we will build stable cooperation on critical mineral supply chains and jointly enhance competitiveness in future industries."
Following the summit on this day, President Lee met business figures from both countries at the Korea-Chile Business Roundtable (BRT) and discussed ways to cooperate economically. At the event, about 30 corporations from both countries exchanged views on cooperation in future growth fields, including stabilizing critical mineral supply chains, expanding investment, artificial intelligence, digital technology cooperation, eco-friendly energy and bio, and K-consumer goods.