Nat'l Assembly speaker set to visit Uzbekistan, Turkey

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik speaks during an open forum at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik was set to embark on a six-day trip to Uzbekistan and Turkey on Monday to discuss ways to bolster cooperation with Central Asia.

In Uzbekistan, Woo is scheduled to attend the 3rd Korea-Central Asia Parliamentary Speakers' Conference to address key global issues with parliamentary leaders across Central Asia.

Woo plans to outline the parliament's role and vision in line with the theme of the gathering: cooperation for human dignity, social justice and environmental protection.

During his trip, Woo will pay courtesy calls on Uzbek Senate Chairperson Tanzila Narbayeva and Legislative Chamber Chairman Nuriddinjon Ismailov to explore ways to deepen bilateral ties in areas of official development assistance and critical mineral supply chains.

The meeting will also touch on support measures for some 180,000 ethnic Koreans living in the country, which make up the largest ethnic Korean community in Central Asia.

Woo will then travel to Turkey and hold a meeting with Turkish parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus, during which the two sides are expected to discuss ways to advance their strategic partnership, including expanding opportunities for Korean companies to participate in key Turkish industries.