PM for development of Finland-ROK ties

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä on Monday emphasised the importance of direct contacts and tourism for the development of the relations between Finland and Republic of South Korea (ROK).

Sipilä met his South Korean counterpart Lee Nak-yon and the Mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon during his visit to Korea and discussed various bilateral issues including the relations between Finland and South Korea.

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä started to visit the XXIII Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea from February 17 and is scheduled to return on February 22.

The Prime Minister said that the EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has boosted trade in both directions.

For Finland, the FTA has been useful. In the period from 2011 to 2016, Finnish exports to South Korea have increased by almost 40%.

Sipilä said that he is very happy about the technological cooperation between the countries, one example of which is the 5G mobile network pilot. In addition, he said that it would be important that the countries develop their cooperation related to high-growth companies and Smart Cities.

The Premiers also had a thorough discussion on the challenging situation in the Korean Peninsula and on the regional situation.

Mayor Park Won-soon conferred an Honorary Citizenship of Seoul upon Prime Minister Sipilä. At their meeting, they discussed, among other things, the Smart City cooperation and Finland's experiences of the basic income experiment.