Ministry of Trade Industry and Resources

Minister JK (Jung-Kwan) Kim of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources (MOTIR) met with Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Türkiye, on February 25, 2026, at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in Seoul to discuss ways to expand bilateral industrial and trade cooperation. The talks focused on follow-up measures to implement the outcomes of the Korea–Türkiye summit in November 2025.

Minister Kim commended the continued expansion of bilateral trade despite heightened global uncertainty, with trade reaching a record USD 10.7 billion in 2025. He expressed hope that the two sides would build on the summit commitments in future strategic areas—nuclear energy, biotechnology, infrastructure, and defense—to further deepen bilateral ties.

Turning to nuclear energy, Minister Kim welcomed ongoing engagement between companies in both countries under the nuclear power cooperation MOU signed in November 2025 between Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and Türkiye’s Nuclear Energy Company. He noted that the two companies agreed to launch a joint working group to examine the commercial feasibility of Türkiye’s new nuclear power project and have begun a preliminary feasibility study. Minister Kim underscored that Korean companies bring five decades of experience and technical know-how in building and operating nuclear power plants, positioning Korea as a strong partner for Türkiye as it advances new nuclear projects. He also proposed close intergovernmental coordination to help move company-level efforts on nuclear power into the implementation phase.

Minister Kim urged Korea and Türkiye to step up resource cooperation to bolster supply-chain resilience amid rising protectionism and economic fragmentation, including cooperation on critical minerals and the sourcing of materials, parts, and equipment.