TEHRAN -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye embarked on the country’s first state visit to Iran on Sunday to tap into the promising market of the Middle East, joined by the largest-ever business delegation.

This is the first time that a South Korean president is visiting the country since the two forged diplomatic ties in 1962. The trip comes 107 days after international sanctions were lifted on Iran after a landmark nuclear agreement in January this year.

The removal of sanctions in exchange for a restricted nuclear program has since seen a rush by world powers and businesses to enter the large market. Chinese president Xi Jinping earlier this year called for “new chapter” of relations between the two as he became the first head of state to visit the Islamic republic since the January deal.

Upon arriving in Tehran on Sunday, Park will be spending a total of about 50 hours in the country, filled with schedules including summit talks, business forums and cultural events.

President Park will hold summit talks with her Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Monday.

The two leaders are set to exchange views on ways to move the bilateral ties forward and strengthen cooperation, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

The presidential office said Park and Rouhani are also expected to discuss pending nuclear problems of North Korea that threatens the peace and stability of the world.

“I hope that future expansion of high-level political exchange, including meetings of foreign ministers on a regular basis, and the revitalization of the Korea-Iran Joint Economic Committee represented by commerce ministers of the two countries, will help to further accelerate our economic cooperation,” Park said in a written interview with the Iranian press.

Explaining that the North Korean case is different from that of Iran as the former withdrew from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and has conducted nuclear tests, Park said that there would be a limit to apply the same approach used in resolving Iran’s case to settling Pyongyang’s nuclear problem.

“I hope the conclusion of negotiations on (Iran’s) nuclear issue will set a milestone in not only bringing about peace and stability in the Middle East but also bolstering the international nonproliferation regime. ... We are looking with keen interest, into what implications the Iranian nuclear deal may have on resolving the North Korean nuclear problem,” she said.

The summit talks will be followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding, joint press conference, and an official luncheon.

Cheong Wa Dae is also pushing to arrange a meeting with Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after the summit.

On Tuesday, Park will attend a South Korea-Iran business forum and support networking between the businesses of the two countries.

Other plans include attending cultural events to promote Korean food and hanji (Korean paper), cultural performances and a meeting with South Korean residents there.

Park’s trip is joined by the largest-ever team of 236 business representatives including 146 small and medium-sized companies, 38 conglomerates and 52 business associations, public organizations and hospitals.

Among them are SK Group chairman Chey Tae-won , POSCO chairman Kwon Oh-joon and LS Group chairman Koo Cha-yol. In the place of Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho was Korean Air president Chi Chang-hoon.

The Iranian government is expected to focus on developing its infrastructure including railways, roads, harbors and water resources, among others.

Korea also aims to elevate cooperation in the high value-added fields of science and technology. 


By Bae Hyun-jeong
Korea Herald correspondent (tellme@heraldcorp.com)