Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
President to lock in mineral supply chains in South America trip
President Lee Jae Myung chairs a virtual meeting with his senior presidential secretaries at a hotel in Brasília during his state visit to Brazil, Sunday (local time). Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
Trip to Brazil, Chile, Argentina centers on resilience amid AI boom
President Lee Jae Myung is seeking to enhance cooperation on critical minerals with South American countries during his three-nation tour this week.
Lee is visiting Brazil from Sunday through Wednesady (local time), Chile from Wednesday to Thursday, and Argentina from Thursday to Saturday, as Korea seeks to secure resilient supply chains for strategic resources amid heightened economic security risks.
The trip includes summits with the leaders of all three countries, with trade and investment with Mercosur, a South American trade bloc, expected to top the agenda.
The president underscored the need for closer cooperation on critical minerals in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), describing Korea's relationship with South America as "entering a new phase" in a written interview with Spain’s EFE news agency released last week.
His comments were widely seen as a reference to the growing demand for critical minerals, including rare earth elements used in semiconductors and other AI-related technologies.
“Cooperation between Korea and South America should evolve beyond the traditional exchange of natural resources for manufactured goods," Lee said, adding that the partnership should create value together through innovation, investment, technology and human capital.
The president emphasized the complementary nature of the two economies, noting that the member states of Mercosur are global leaders in agriculture, food production, energy and critical minerals, while Korea excels in advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, shipbuilding, batteries and innovation.
"If we combine these strengths, we can build resilient value chains that benefit both regions," Lee said, underscoring that such cooperation would help foster new industries and create quality jobs.
Lee stressed that reliable partnerships are becoming increasingly important amid rising protectionism, geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and growing concerns over energy security.
"In times like these, countries need trustworthy partners and trade based on clear rules and mutual trust," he said.
Lee identified advancing Korea's economic cooperation framework with South America as a key objective of the trip, highlighting plans to update the Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement — Korea's first-ever FTA, which entered into force in 2004.
"More than 20 years after the agreement was concluded, we now have an opportunity to modernize it by reflecting new areas such as digital trade, environmental cooperation, labor standards, gender equality and innovation," he said.