South Korea-Latin America trade outreach

South Korean President Lee Jae‑myung embarked on a diplomatic tour of Latin America to deepen economic ties and secure critical mineral supplies. His first stop was Chile, where he met President José Antonio Kast for a two‑day state visit. The agenda focused on modernising the Korea‑Chile Free Trade Agreement to cover digital trade, AI, clean‑energy technologies, labour standards and gender equality, and on establishing a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on the supply chain for strategic minerals such as copper and lithium, which Chile dominates.

Following the Chile visit, Lee travelled to Brazil, attending a business roundtable in São Paulo. There, South Korea and Brazil signed seven memoranda of understanding covering joint civilian aircraft development, cooperation on strategic minerals including rare‑earths, expansion of Korean beauty brands, AI, biotech and other future‑industry sectors. The agreements aim to bolster supply‑chain resilience, accelerate the Korea‑Mercosur trade agreement and promote a “one‑team” approach to investment and production, positioning both nations as partners in global aerospace and mineral markets.

The tour underscores South Korea’s broader strategy of engaging Latin American partners to diversify its sources of critical minerals and expand trade in high‑technology and consumer‑goods sectors.