Türkiye and South Korea signed four new cooperation documents covering areas from nuclear energy to mining during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Seoul. At a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Seoul after Erdoğan's one-on-one and delegation-level talks with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, ministers and institutional heads signed the memoranda of understanding in the presence of the two leaders.
The four signed documents and signatories
- Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation Regarding Nuclear Power Project Financing: Türkiye's Türkiye Nuclear Energy Inc. (TÜNAŞ) General Manager Necati Yamaç and Korea's Korea Export-Import Bank (Korea Eximbank) Chairman and CEO Hwang Ki-yeon signed the document.
- Memorandum of Understanding on Strengthening Cooperation in the Energy Sector: It was signed by Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar and South Korea's Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-whan.
- Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Natural Resources and Mining: It was signed by Minister Bayraktar and South Korea's Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jung-kwan.
- Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation: Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan signed on behalf of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, while South Korea's Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon signed on behalf of Korea.
Korean financing for the nuclear project
The most notable document in the package concerns financing cooperation for Türkiye's new nuclear power plant project. At a joint press conference held after the signing ceremony, Lee said the document would support the participation of Korean companies in Türkiye's new nuclear power plant project. Erdoğan said nuclear energy and mining were among the key agenda items of the talks, and recalled that the memorandum signed between TÜNAŞ and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) in November 2025 formed the basis of this cooperation. The involvement of Korea Eximbank means that Korean government support is being brought into the project's financing component.
Critical minerals and the energy transition
Through the energy and mining documents, the two countries agreed to establish a Korea-Türkiye Energy Transition Forum to cooperate on clean energy, hydrogen and renewable resources, and to create an intergovernmental communication channel for critical mineral supply chains. The science and technology memorandum covers areas including artificial intelligence, advanced communications technologies and advanced materials.
The agreements form the economic component of a visit during which the two leaders reaffirmed their goal of increasing bilateral trade, which exceeded $11 billion last year, to $15 billion. Türkiye and South Korea will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year.
Photos and video: AA
