South Korea President Lee says India summit could mark turning point in ties

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in New Delhi on April 20, 2026, for a state visit — the first by a South Korean president in eight years — and h...

What Happened

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung arrived in New Delhi on April 20, 2026, for a state visit — the first by a South Korean president in eight years — and held a bilateral summit at Hyderabad House.
The summit produced 25 key agreements and 15 Memoranda of Understanding spanning trade, defence, technology, shipbuilding, AI, semiconductors, clean energy, and supply chain resilience.
Both leaders agreed to set a bilateral trade target of $50 billion by 2030, up from the current approximately $27 billion.
A landmark "India-Korea Digital Bridge" initiative was launched to deepen collaboration in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and digital infrastructure.
Negotiations to upgrade the existing Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to "CEPA 2.0" were formally relaunched; the 12th round of upgrade talks is expected in May 2026 with both sides targeting conclusion by the first half of 2027.
Defence cooperation was prominently featured: both sides discussed joint development of strategic defence systems, shipbuilding collaboration, and naval logistics arrangements; South Korea expressed interest in India's defence manufacturing sector under the Make in India initiative.
New institutional mechanisms established include an Industrial Cooperation Committee, an Economic Security Dialogue, and Financial Cooperation Platforms.
The summit is framed by both sides as a pivotal moment for India's Act East Policy and for South Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy.

Static Topic Bridges

India-South Korea CEPA and Its Upgrade

The India-Republic of Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) entered into force on January 1, 2010 — the first such agreement concluded by India with a major East Asian economy. Under the original CEPA, bilateral trade increased from approximately $12 billion (2009) to $27 billion (2024). However, trade has been structurally imbalanced, with India running a persistent deficit: South Korean exports to India (predominantly electronics, steel, machinery, petrochemicals) significantly outpace Indian exports to South Korea (petroleum products, textile yarn, pharmaceutical ingredients). The CEPA upgrade (CEPA 2.0) aims to address non-tariff barriers, open new services chapters, and expand market access for Indian labour-intensive sectors.

Original CEPA (2010): covered goods, services, and investment; eliminated or reduced tariffs on approximately 85% of tariff lines over 8 years.
India-South Korea bilateral trade (2024): ~$27 billion; India's trade deficit with South Korea: ~$10 billion.
CEPA 2.0 priority areas: digital trade, e-commerce, pharmaceutical market access, expanded movement of professionals (Mode 4 services), and clean energy technology.
India has concluded CEPAs/FTAs with ASEAN (2010), Japan (2011), UAE (2022), and Australia (2022); South Korea is a key node in the Indo-Pacific supply chain.
The 12th round of CEPA upgrade negotiations is scheduled for May 2026; target completion by H1 2027.

Connection to this news: The formal relaunch of CEPA 2.0 negotiations is the central economic outcome of the summit, with the Digital Bridge initiative signalling that semiconductors and technology supply chains will be the cornerstone of the upgraded agreement.

India's Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific Framework

India's "Act East Policy," articulated in 2014 as an evolution of the earlier "Look East Policy" (1991), prioritises strategic, economic, and cultural engagement with Southeast and East Asia. Unlike its predecessor which focused primarily on trade, Act East explicitly incorporates security dimensions — deepening partnerships with Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, and ASEAN — while positioning India as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific framing situates the Indian Ocean and Pacific as a single strategic space, with the Quad (India, US, Japan, Australia) as its security anchor.

Look East Policy: launched in 1991 by PM Narasimha Rao; focused on ASEAN trade and investment.
Act East Policy: announced at the East Asia Summit (November 2014); broadened to include Northeast India as a connectivity hub.
India's Special Strategic Partnership with South Korea: established in 2015, upgrades the previous "Strategic Partnership" (2010).
India is a member of the East Asia Summit (EAS), ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), and the Quad; South Korea is a member of APEC and G20.
The India-Korea summit follows a series of high-profile diplomatic engagements by India in 2026, including with the EU, UK, and Japan — reflecting a strategic diversification of economic and technology partnerships.

Connection to this news: The India-South Korea summit explicitly positions bilateral ties within the Act East Policy framework, with the Digital Bridge and defence cooperation agreements serving as concrete deliverables of this Indo-Pacific realignment.

Semiconductor Supply Chain Security

The global semiconductor shortage of 2020–2022 exposed the strategic vulnerability of modern economies to supply chain disruptions concentrated in Taiwan (TSMC), South Korea (Samsung, SK Hynix), and the US (Intel, Qualcomm). Both India and South Korea have subsequently elevated semiconductor supply chain diversification to a national security priority. South Korea's Samsung has announced major fabrication investments in India; India's Semiconductor Mission (ISM), launched in 2021, has attracted investments from Micron Technology, Tata Electronics, and the CG Power-Renesas consortium totalling over $20 billion.

India Semiconductor Mission (ISM): launched December 2021 with a $10 billion incentive corpus; administered by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Approved semiconductor fab projects (as of 2025): Tata-PSMC fab in Dholera (28-nm node), Tata semiconductor assembly and test facility in Jagiroad (Assam), Micron assembly and test unit in Sanand (Gujarat), CG Power-Renesas assembly facility in Sanand.
South Korea's Samsung Electronics: approved investment of ~$17 billion in a semiconductor fab in Taylor, Texas (US); in parallel discussions with India for display and memory chip assembly.
The India-Korea Digital Bridge will coordinate on semiconductor R&D, chip design ecosystems, and talent exchange.
India has no current advanced logic chip fab (below 28 nm); the supply chain remains concentrated in East Asia and the US.

Connection to this news: The Digital Bridge initiative and CEPA 2.0 negotiations are partly motivated by the desire to link India's semiconductor assembly and testing ecosystem with South Korea's upstream chip design and fabrication expertise — a supply-chain diversification strategy for both countries.

India-South Korea Defence Cooperation

Defence has been a growing pillar of India-South Korea ties since the signing of the Defence Acquisition Framework agreement. South Korean defence companies — particularly Hanwha Defense (K9 Thunder howitzers), LIG Nex1, and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) — are active participants in India's Make in India defence programme. South Korea's defence export model, which emphasises technology transfer and joint production, aligns well with India's "Make in India, Make for the World" defence industrial policy.

K9 Vajra (Thunder) self-propelled howitzer: South Korea's most prominent defence export to India; 100 units manufactured in India by L&T in collaboration with Hanwha Defense; considered one of the most successful defence Make in India programmes.
South Korea is one of the 17 countries approved for Japanese lethal weapons exports (announced April 21, 2026) — a parallel development that creates triangular India-Japan-Korea defence industrial linkages.
Defence trade: India is one of South Korea's largest defence export markets; South Korea seeks broader collaboration in naval systems, military logistics vehicles, and ammunition.
Both countries conduct combined naval exercises; South Korea has shown interest in India's BrahMos supersonic cruise missile for its own force modernisation.

Connection to this news: The defence dimensions of the 2026 summit — shipbuilding cooperation, joint development agreements, and naval logistics — build directly on the K9 Vajra template and signal an ambition to expand the defence industrial partnership into higher-technology domains.

Key Facts & Data

India-South Korea diplomatic relations: established 1973; upgraded to Special Strategic Partnership in 2015.
Bilateral trade target: $50 billion by 2030 (current: ~$27 billion).
15 MoUs and 25 agreements signed at the 2026 summit.
CEPA (2010): India's first comprehensive FTA with a major East Asian economy.
India Semiconductor Mission corpus: $10 billion in incentives; total announced investment: over $20 billion.
South Korea's GDP (2024): ~$1.7 trillion; ranked 13th globally; a member of G20 and OECD.
South Korea is the world's 6th largest defence exporter (SIPRI 2024); India is the world's largest arms importer.
India-Korea Digital Bridge: focuses on AI, semiconductors, and digital infrastructure linkages.
This was President Lee Jae-myung's first overseas visit as President to South Asia.