South Korea and India have signed 20 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) covering steel, shipbuilding, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and other sectors, marking a significant step forward in bilateral economic cooperation. The agreements were concluded during a high-level business forum held on the sidelines of a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday, as Lee wrapped up a three-day state visit.
The forum brought together roughly 250 South Korean business leaders — including the chairmen of Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, LG Group, POSCO and HD Hyundai — alongside some 350 Indian counterparts from major conglomerates including JSW Steel, the Essar Group and the Sanmar Group. Among the headline deals, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering signed an initial agreement with Indian partners to build a new shipyard in India, while POSCO Holdings and JSW Group agreed to establish a joint venture for an Indian steel mill. Hyundai Motor and Indian manufacturer TVS Motor will co-develop an electric three-wheeler tailored for the Indian market, and Korean internet firm Naver Corp. will partner with Tata Consultancy Services on artificial intelligence and cloud services. A separate business partnership event the following day produced export deals worth a combined $48 million.
The two countries also announced an ambitious target of doubling bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030. India, keen to advance its "Made in India" industrial strategy, is reportedly planning to establish dedicated industrial zones reserved exclusively for South Korean companies. The partnership extends beyond manufacturing: the two sides are accelerating joint production of advanced weaponry, and India is exploring the deployment of South Korean small modular reactors (SMRs) at industrial sites as part of its push to move away from coal.
Energy security featured prominently in the summit's outcomes. The two governments issued a joint statement on stabilising energy and resource supplies amid ongoing instability in the Middle East — a pressing concern for Seoul, which relies significantly on India as a source of naphtha, a key industrial feedstock whose supply has been disrupted by the regional conflict. South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal agreed to establish a new joint committee to promote industrial cooperation, and trade ministers from both sides signed a statement to advance negotiations on improving their bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
The breadth of the agreements — summarised by Prime Minister Modi with the phrase "from chips to ships" — reflects the strategic logic driving both nations. South Korea, a technologically advanced economy with world-leading capabilities in semiconductors and heavy industry, is seeking a secure foothold in one of the world's fastest-growing major markets. India, for its part, gains access to capital, expertise and technology that can accelerate its industrial ambitions. The partnership signals that both countries see each other as long-term pillars of a diversifying global economic order.