[Edaily Reporter SOYEON KIM ] Chey Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said on the 16th, “If Korea and Central Asia share their respective strengths and experiences and join forces, we can create far greater opportunities and prosperity together than we have now.”

Chairman Choi made these remarks at the “1st Korea-Central Asia Business Summit 2026,” held that day at The Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul, where business leaders from Korea and five Central Asian countries gathered. Chairman Choi emphasized, “During the business sessions, business leaders from Korea and Central Asia exchanged many views on the potential for cooperation,” adding, “Based on these discussions, the business communities of the six countries adopted a joint declaration outlining the direction for future cooperation.”

Organized in conjunction with the inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit, this event was attended by President Lee Jae-myung, along with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan—as well as approximately 520 political and business leaders from South Korea and Central Asia.

In addition to Chairman Choi, attendees included Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Kim Jeong-gwan; Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun; POSCO Group Chairman Jang In-hwa; LS Group Chairman Ja-eun Koo; Jin Ok-dong, Chairman of ShinhanFinancialGroup Co.,Ltd.; Park Seung-hee, President of SamsungElectronics; Oh Se-cheol, President of SAMSUNG C&T CORPORATION; Seo Kang-hyun, President of HyundaiMotor; Kang Kyung-sung, President of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA); and Yoon Seok-dae, President of the Korea Water Resources Corporation—along with other representatives from the government, major corporations, and public institutions—attended in large numbers to expand cooperation networks with Central Asian governments and business communities.

Chairman Choi explained the joint declaration. “We agreed to expand trade and investment and strengthen cooperation between companies to create new business opportunities,” he said. “We also agreed to diversify trade and investment into sectors with high growth potential, such as consumer goods and healthcare, and to explore new opportunities for cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) and the digital sector.”

Furthermore, the joint declaration outlined a consensus to expand cooperation on critical minerals as well as in the plant, infrastructure, and logistics sectors. Chairman Choi remarked, “What is important is that today’s joint declaration will not remain merely a declaration,” adding, “We will ensure that today’s commitment to cooperation translates into actual investment and business ventures, and that the business community plays an active role in enabling more South Korean and Central Asian companies to find new opportunities in each other’s markets.”

This summit is significant in that it expanded economic cooperation—which had previously been centered on individual countries—into multilateral cooperation among South Korea and the five Central Asian nations, and established a new economic cooperation platform where the governments and business communities of the six countries can explore directions for collaboration.

The heads of state from each country presented their visions for the future of Korea-Central Asia economic cooperation and their respective countries’ cooperation strategies, expressing their expectations and commitment to expanding practical cooperation within the business community.

A total of 19 Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed at the event, involving major companies and institutions such as HyundaiMotor, LGELECTRONICS, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology. These MOUs focused on solidifying existing cooperation and identifying new business opportunities in various fields, including critical minerals and energy, infrastructure and logistics, digital technology and AI, smart cities, biotechnology, and education.

HyundaiMotor has committed to identifying smart city cooperation models within Kazakhstan, while the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology plans to strengthen industrial cooperation with Kazakhstan in the rare metals sector.