President Lee Jae-myung held a summit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is on a state visit, and agreed to deepen cooperation in strategic areas including nuclear power, defense and infrastructure. The Kyunghyang Shinmun reports the two countries also signed a financing memorandum to help Korean firms take part in the Sinop nuclear project.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that on the 3rd President Lee held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the presidential office and issued a joint press statement. Lee said, ‘We will further deepen practical cooperation in strategic fields such as nuclear power, defense and infrastructure.’
광고 문의 · 300×250Lee said he regards Türkiye as ‘kan kardeşi’, or blood brothers. The two leaders agreed to widen cooperation on the basis of deep friendship and trust. According to the article’s subhead, 2027 marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
The Sinop plant and the financing MOU
The nuclear project financing MOU signed this time reportedly supports the participation of Korean companies in Türkiye’s planned Sinop nuclear power plant. It follows up on the nuclear cooperation MOU the two countries signed last November. Specific terms such as project size and the timing of any contract award do not appear in the reports we checked and remain unconfirmed.
On trade, the article noted that last year’s bilateral trade was the largest since diplomatic ties were established, and the two sides agreed to raise it further. Cooperation will also widen to future growth areas such as biotech, energy, science and technology, natural resources and mining. On Türkiye’s blood-product self-sufficiency project in which SK Plasma is involved, they agreed to push ahead with building a plasma fractionation plant without delay.
State banquet and the defense angle
The state banquet after the summit drew more than 80 people from both countries, including Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun, POSCO Group chairman Chang In-hwa and Hyundai Rotem CEO Lee Yong-bae. Hyundai Rotem’s presence signals expectations for defense and rail cooperation, but the article described no specific defense contract or agreement.
In short, the concrete results confirmed from the talks are the Sinop financing MOU and the commitment to the plasma fractionation plant, while defense remains at the level of stated intent. How fast practical cooperation moves will depend on follow-up negotiations and the selection of contractors.