Erdoğan visits Seoul with $15 billion trade goal

SEOUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in Seoul on Nov. 2 for talks on energy, defense and investment as Türkiye and South Korea seek to raise annual bilateral trade to $15 billion.

Erdoğan is scheduled to meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Nov. 3 during a visit lasting through Nov. 4. C

ommunications Director Burhanettin Duran said the two sides would review their strategic partnership and sign agreements to strengthen bilateral ties.

Trade between the countries reached $11.4 billion in 2025 and $8.7 billion in the first nine months of this year.

Pharmaceuticals were Türkiye’s leading export category to South Korea during the nine-month period.

Nuclear energy is among the main items on the agenda.

In an interview with Yonhap published on Nov. 2, Erdoğan described South Korea as a potential partner in Türkiye’s planned second nuclear power plant in Sinop, on the Black Sea coast.

He said preliminary feasibility studies had been conducted with Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), while technical and economic conditions remained under review.

A final decision would take account of financing, electricity generation costs and benefits to the Turkish economy.

KEPCO and Türkiye Nuclear Energy Inc. signed a nuclear cooperation memorandum during Lee’s visit to Türkiye in November 2025.

The two countries also aim to expand defense cooperation, building on their partnership in the Altay tank project.

Transport, infrastructure, technology and tourism are among the other areas under discussion.

In a post on X ahead of the visit, Lee said he hoped to deepen cooperation in defense, the economy and energy.

He recalled the countries’ ties dating to the Korean War and welcomed efforts to strengthen their strategic partnership.