President Yoon Suk Yeol on July 30, local time, presented the joint venture between South Korea's LS Group and Chile's state-owned Codelco as a successful model for cooperation in critical minerals, suggesting its expansion into advanced manufacturing and defense industries.
Speaking at a Korea-Chile Business Roundtable held at a hotel in Santiago, Yoon expressed hope that "the joint venture between LS and Codelco can be further expanded in the future."
He emphasized that by joining forces, the two countries could create remarkable synergies across various sectors, including the supply and value addition of critical minerals, supply chains, advanced manufacturing, and defense.
The event featured 11 representatives from major companies in both Korea and Chile. Notable attendees from Korea included Lee Woo-hyun, Chairman of OCI Holdings; Jang In-hwa, Chairman of POSCO; Koo Ja-eun, Chairman of LS Group; Choi Yoon-bum, Chairman of Korea Zinc; Ryu Jae-cheol, President of LG Electronics; Jung In-seob, President of Hanwha Ocean; Choi Soo-yeon, CEO of Naver; Jang Jae-hoon, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor; and Lee Dong-hoon, CEO of SK Biopharm.
From Chile, attendees included Rosario Navarro, President of the Chilean Industrial Association, and Susana Jimenez, President of the Chilean Production and Commerce Confederation, along with executives from key sectors such as minerals, steel, automotive, agriculture, and forestry.
Yoon described Chile as "South Korea's first free trade agreement partner and a key gateway connecting the Asia-Pacific region with Latin America." He stressed the importance of trust between nations and cooperation among businesses in the current transformative global economic landscape.
He noted that trade between the two countries has quadrupled in the 20 years since the Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2004, stating, "At that time, the main focus was on expanding trade in agricultural and mineral products, but now the scope of cooperation is broadening in various areas."
Yoon added, "The two countries are transitioning from mere trading partners to strategic partners preparing for the future," and expressed hope for expanding new aspects of future cooperation based on a deep history of trust.
He also highlighted the need to combine Chile's copper and lithium resources with South Korea's battery, advanced materials, automotive, semiconductor, and artificial intelligence technologies. "Chile is a key supply base for the global green industry, and South Korea has world-class competitiveness in advanced manufacturing," he explained.
The successful project Yoon referenced is a precious metals recovery plant in Mejillones, Chile, operated by the joint venture PRM, in which LS MnM and Codelco hold 66% and 34% stakes, respectively. Completed in 2017, the plant processes anode slime, a byproduct of Codelco's copper refining process, to recover high-value metals such as gold, silver, palladium, and platinum. This project is cited as a representative example of cooperation that enhances local value by combining Chilean raw materials with Korean refining technology.
Yoon expressed hope that South Korea and Chile could turn the current crisis in the global economic order into new opportunities for shared prosperity, stating, "The government will also provide unwavering support for our companies to lead the market together."
Patricio Torres, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, introduced South Korea as Chile's sixth-largest trading partner globally and third-largest in Asia as of 2025. He noted that trade between the two countries has grown at an average annual rate of 6.1% since 2020 and announced plans to send a large-scale public-private economic delegation to Korea in September, consisting of businesses, economic organizations, and relevant institutions.
Torres suggested that the relationship should evolve beyond trade to focus on investment, innovation, and the creation of new value, proposing expanded cooperation in digital economy, renewable energy, AI, and robotics.
Rosario Navarro, President of the Chilean Industrial Association, requested a swift conclusion to the modernization negotiations of the Korea-Chile FTA, reflecting areas such as the digital economy, trade facilitation, environment, intellectual property rights, and access to agricultural markets.
Lee Woo-hyun, Chairman of OCI Holdings and head of the Korea-Chile Private Economic Cooperation Committee, remarked, "The two countries are special partners who gifted each other their first FTAs," expressing hope that this event would lead to new investments and business opportunities, marking yet another 'first.' He added, "OCI will expand future cooperation with Chile, which possesses abundant renewable energy resources and critical minerals, based on our global business experience from core materials for solar power to energy storage systems (ESS)," emphasizing that the combination of Chile's resources and South Korea's technology will create new growth opportunities.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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