• Türkiye ‘a brother nation to us ever since it supported us during the Korean War,’ says Lee Jae-myung

ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues in a phone call with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae-myung.

Congratulating Lee on his election as president, Erdogan expressed his hope to take joint steps to further develop the strategic partnership between Türkiye and South Korea in the coming period, according to Türkiye's Communications Directorate on X.

Lee, from the Democratic Party, was elected in a landslide victory last month for a term of six years.

Erdogan also underlined the potential for cooperation in many areas, including nuclear energy, artificial intelligence, green energy, and the defense industry.

The Turkish president also invited Lee to visit Türkiye.

Lee, in a statement, said he was “pleased” to hold his first conversation with Turkish President Erdogan.

“Türkiye has been a brother nation to us ever since it supported us during the Korean War as the fourth-largest troop-contributing country,” Lee said, recalling contributions of Turkish soldiers.

Türkiye became one of the countries that sent the most troops to the Korean War in response to the call of the UN.

The remains of 462 out of the 721 Turkish soldiers lost in the war are located in the UN Memorial Cemetery in the South Korean city of Busan. Koreans frequently visit the monumental cemetery, which includes Turkish martyrs.

"President Erdogan and I reaffirmed our shared commitment to further strengthening our strategic partnership based on this historic bond,” said the South Korean president on X.

Lee said he “agreed” with Erdogan to “work closely together to advance our friendship and cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as defense and the defense industry, nuclear energy, and green energy.”

Türkiye and South Korea first established political ties in August 1949 and later formed diplomatic relations in 1957.

With steady growth in bilateral ties, the two sides elevated relations to a strategic partnership in 2012, and the bilateral trade volume has climbed to around $10 billion.

Besides being members of the world’s top 20 economies, the G20, Türkiye and South Korea, along with Indonesia, Mexico, and Australia, have formed the MIKTA partnership since 2013.