The ambassador of South Korea to Ankara, Cho Yun-soo, has said that Korean businesses consider Turkey safe for investments, indicating that they will continue to invest in the country while saying that more Koreans will come to Turkey in the upcoming period and make investments.
Cho was in Konya on Monday to attend the Anatolian Odyssey program, which was initiated in honor of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries aimed at strengthening ties of cooperation and friendship between Turkey and South Korea.
Indicating that he has been in office in Turkey for three years, Cho said that the friendship between the two countries dates back many years.
Emphasizing that South Korea's friendship with Turkey is also reflected in trade, Cho said that the country has invested more than $2.4 billion in Turkey. "We carried out an investment of $700 million last year and Korean firms have been making investments in Turkey for years. The investments continued last year despite challenges in the investment environment. South Korean businessmen consider their investments in Turkey to be safe. Let me reiterate that they will continue coming to the country and making investments here. We expect more Koreans to come and make investments here in the future," Cho said.
Regarding the July 15 failed coup attempt, Cho said that Seoul completely supports Ankara: "We stand with the government that was chosen by the Turkish people. No military coup or attempted coup is acceptable. There is no way to accept the coup attempt which took place on July 15. The attempt to overthrow the elected government is unacceptable."
Initiated by the Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TİM), the Export Compass Program, which includes 10 countries, began with the Route: South Korea event. Indicating that many Korean companies such as Hyundai, Samsung and LG have made big investments in Turkey so far and have benefited from the move, TİM Deputy Chairman Mustafa Çıkrıkçıoğlu said they expect more Korean companies to invest in Turkey.
Moreover, South Korea's Consul General in Istanbul Cha Young-cheol said that Turkish olive oil and hazelnuts are two products that have shown great promise in the South Korean market. Furthermore, the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) Turkey-South Korea Business Council chairman and Kibar Holding CEO Tamer Saka said that a partnership model should be developed for the two countries' small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
TİM initiated the Export Compass Program after launching the 10 provinces 10 countries: Target Markets Program. The necessary information regarding the 10 countries identified in the former will be transferred to the latter at the meetings, after which trade delegations will be arranged. The first event held for the Export Compass Program was Route: South Korea. The trade delegation will go to Korea country Aug. 7-9. Also, the Export Compass Program includes events regarding Ghana, Russia, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, India, the U.S., Nigeria and Kuwait, which will be organized in the coming months.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Route: South Korea, Mustafa Çıkrıkçıoğlu said that Turkey has to conduct further foreign trade with South Korea, one of the three countries that makes the biggest investments in 5G technology in the world. "Our exports in 2016 stood at $518 million, while imports totaled $6.4 billion. A system in which one side is constantly winning is not sustainable. So, we should increase our mutual investments."