Korea - India Relations

Sept 2023: Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met H.E. Mr. Yoon Suk Yeol, President of the Republic of Korea, on the sidelines of G20 Summit in New Delhi. President Yoon Suk Yeol congratulated Prime Minister on India’s G20 Presidency and on the success of Chandrayaan mission. The leaders noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations, they reviewed progress on various areas of bilateral Special Strategic Partnership, including in trade and investment, defence production, semiconductors and EV battery technology and exchanged views on regional and global issues.

The year 2023 marks 50 years of successful diplomatic ties between India and the Republic of Korea. The bilateral consular relations established between the two nations in 1962, were upgraded with an Ambassador appointment in 1973.

India and South Korea in Jan, 2022 agreed to expand trade by upgrading the existing bilateral agreement and resolving industry specific issues to achieve $50 Bn bilateral trade by 2030.

In 2019, Prime Minister of India inaugurated the ‘India-Korea Startup Hub’ to increase cooperation in fields of research, innovation and entrepreneurship. 6 MoU's were also signed between the two nations to strengthen collaboration between their law enforcement agencies and to promote bilateral cooperation in road and transport infrastructure development.

The first Indo-Korean Friendship Park was jointly inaugurated in Delhi on 26 March 2021 by Mr Suh Wook, Hon'ble Minister of National Defence, Republic of Korea and Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble Defence Minister of India as a symbol of the relations between the two countries.

With the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Korea in 2015, the bilateral relations were upgraded to a ‘Special Strategic Partnership’. Korean President Moon Jae-In’s ‘New Southern Policy’ compliments India’s ‘Act East Policy’ as both seek to strengthen economic relations between the two nations.

The Republic of Korea is the 13^th largest FDI investor in India, investing $5.9 Bn (South Korea) from Apr 2000 to Jun 2024. Metallurgy, automobile, electronics, prime movers, machine tools, hospitals and diagnostic centres are the top sectors which attracted the investment.

Imports from Korea were valued at $17.9 Bn and exports at $6.7 Bn during 2023-24. Major items including mineral fuels/oil distillates (mainly naphtha), cereals, iron and steel form the bulk of exports.

Invest India and Korean SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME) signed an MoU in Apr 2021 to formalise their engagement to support both countries’ Startups, SMEs and VC ecosystems through investor matchmaking, mentorship and networking opportunities and organising joint events related to FDI.

Republic of Korea and India signed the CEPA Free Trade Agreement in 2009, which became operational from 1st January 2010. In addition, the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea was established in 2010 to support Korean companies interested in doing business in India.

Government of India offers scholarships and fellowships to Korean nationals for various programmes and disciplines covering research work and non-formal courses every year to study in India. RoK Government also offers scholarships to Indian nationals each year to study Korean Language and Literature at Masters and PhD level at select Korean Universities.

Seoul Forum for International Affairs and Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations have been jointly organizing the India-Korea Dialogue that makes recommendations on policies and practical measures to strengthen bilateral relations between the countries. The last round of discussion was held in November 2019.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations in Seoul and Busan promotes Indian culture in the country offering classes in yoga, dance, Hindi language, music and cooking. The Korean Cultural Centre plays a major role in introducing Korean culture in India by offering Korean language classes and hosting festivals, exhibitions and competitions.