[Edaily Reporter Choi Oh-hyun ] During his visit to South Korea, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met successively with executives from major domestic companies—including HyundaiMotor Group Chairman Euisun Chung, CEO and Head of the DX (Finished Products) Division Noh Tae-moon, and LGELECTRONICS CEO Ryu Jae-cheol—to discuss ways to expand economic cooperation.

According to the Turkish Presidential Office on the 4th, President Erdoğan met with senior executives from South Korean companies in the technology, electronics, biotechnology, and chemical sectors in Seoul. President Erdoğan posted photos of his meetings with the executives on his official social media account on X.

It is reported that President Erdoğan met with Chairman Chung for tea and discussed comprehensive cooperation plans, including the expansion of the electric vehicle business. Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon and President Sung Kim, Head of Strategic Planning, were also present at the meeting.

HyundaiMotor Group has been operating its first overseas production base in Türkiye since 1997. Since establishing the plant in Türkiye, the company has expanded its local presence by building an annual production capacity of 200,000 units and producing a cumulative total of 3.4 million vehicles. Notably, in August, the plant in Türkiye began mass production of the new Ioniq 3, a strategic model for the European market. Prior to the start of mass production, Chairman Chung visited the Turkey plant in late July to personally inspect the production quality of the Ioniq 3. Chairman Chung also attended a state banquet held at the Blue House’s State Guest House the previous day.

President Erdoğan met successively with SamsungElectronics CEO Noh Tae-moon, LGELECTRONICS President Ryu Jae-cheol, Celltrion CEO Seo Jin-seok, and SKCHEMICALS and SKPLASMA CEO Ahn Jae-hyun. SamsungElectronics operates local sales subsidiaries in Turkey for home appliances, TVs, and mobile devices, and LGELECTRONICS also has a sales subsidiary in Istanbul, Turkey. LGELECTRONICS operates an air conditioner factory in Gebze, Kocaeli Province, Turkey, through a joint venture with the Koç Group—which owns the local home appliance manufacturer Arçelik—in which the two companies share equal ownership.

In addition, Kim Bo-kyun, Chairman of CHEMTRONICS Co., Ltd. and WITS Co., Ltd., along with executives from KoreaElectricPower (KEPCO), met with President Erdoğan. Representing the Turkish side were Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Mehmet Fatih Kazır, Minister of Industry and Technology, among others.

It was reported that President Erdoğan held individual meetings with executives from each company at his accommodation in Seoul. The meetings were held behind closed doors, and no details regarding the specific topics discussed or whether any new investment or business agreements were signed have been disclosed. It is understood that the discussions focused on ways to strengthen economic cooperation with the Turkish government, particularly involving companies that have already entered the Turkish market or are operating production facilities there.

This meeting took place as South Korea and Türkiye are working to expand cooperation in high-tech industries. The leaders of both countries had previously agreed during a summit to strengthen cooperation in strategic industries such as science and technology, energy, and critical minerals.

President Erdoğan also reaffirmed the goal of expanding bilateral trade from the current level of $11 billion to $15 billion. Currently, more than 400 South Korean companies are operating in Türkiye.