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Despite the distance of several thousand kilometers, Poland and South Korea are growing an even tighter bond. Both countries cooperate in the energy and defense sectors, and more Korean investments have begun to flow to Poland. After the current visit of South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, the cooperation will be even deeper.
On the evening of July 12, President Yoon began his official three-day visit to Poland. This is the first official visit of the Korean President to Poland, who flew to Warsaw straight from the NATO summit in Vilnius.
The program of the visit includes talks between Andrzej Duda and Yoon Suk–Yeol in a narrow group and with the participation of delegations, followed by a signing ceremony and a joint press conference.
“Cooperation in the defense and energy sectors, as well as the reconstruction of Ukraine can make Poland a “land of new opportunities” for Korea,” wrote the Korean news agency Yonhap.
“Poland and the Republic of Korea have very good political and economic relations. This is reflected in the fact that during the visit to Poland, President Yoon Suk Yeol is accompanied by the CEOs of the largest Korean companies. We hope to deepen our cooperation,” tweeted Jacek Sasin, Minister of State Assets.
“We work together on infrastructure. We discussed the construction of the CPK, investments in Polish ports and the national railway network with the participation of Korean companies,” said President Andrzej Duda at a press meeting.
Andrzej Duda said that the two delegations discussed investments related to CPK (Central Communication Port, a transport hub that is to be built near Warsaw – ed.). “We are also very pleased that from now on there will be more air connections between Poland and Korea,” he added.
“Poland is our most important partner in the region. During the meeting we discussed the issue of strategic cooperation. We are particularly looking forward to cooperation in the field of nuclear energy. So far, we have worked out a close cooperation agreement that can ensure energy security, ” President Yoon said. “Poland and Korea can also be close partners in the reconstruction of Ukraine,” he added.
The Polish President also announced that he will open a Polish-Korean Business Forum with the Korean leader on Friday. “I can safely say that the prospects for the development of our economic cooperation are excellent, as shown by the results from 2022, where our economic turnover exceeded USD 10 billion,” Duda said.
Most importantly, the visit of the Korean delegation also touched upon the issue of defense. Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak spoke with South Korean Deputy Defense Minister Il Sung about strengthening the potential of the Polish army within the framework of Polish-Korean cooperation. The meeting was held at the Defense Ministry.
South Korea became the main supplier of weapons to the Polish army. In total, Poland will buy 48 FA-50s, as well as 672 K9 self – propelled howitzers and their polonized versions, and – in two stages-a total of 1,000 K2 tanks, 800 of which are in the Polish K2PL standard.
It is worth mentioning that the energy sector will be the main area of cooperation between Warsaw and Seoul, and Korean companies, a flagship example of which is the planned construction of a second nuclear power plant in Pątnów (Konin district) in cooperation with KHNP and PGE PAK, using the ARP1400 reactor.
According to the Polish Nuclear Energy Program by 2043, Poland will have 6-9 GW of nuclear energy with the first reactor in 2033. The first power plant is to be built in cooperation with the American Westinghouse, and the second facility with the Koreans. A partner for the construction of the third nuclear power plant has not yet been chosen.
Yonhap / Presidential Office / Jacek Perzyński
