Seoul, South Korea – South Korea and Brazil formally elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership on Monday, February 23, 2026, following a summit meeting in Seoul between South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The move signifies a deepening of ties between the two nations, encompassing political, economic, and defense cooperation.
During a joint press conference, President Lee announced the adoption of a quadrennial action plan designed to guide collaboration across multiple sectors. “The president Lula and I shared the consensus that the two countries must expand mutually beneficial economic cooperation,” Lee stated, according to the Yonhap News Agency. The action plan will serve as a roadmap for policy coordination, economic initiatives, practical cooperation, and increased people-to-people exchanges.
The upgrade from a “comprehensive cooperative partnership” to a “strategic partnership” underscores a shared commitment to addressing regional and global challenges, according to a statement released by the South Korean presidential office. Both leaders emphasized the importance of revitalizing stalled trade negotiations between South Korea and Mercosur, the South American trade bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Negotiations had been suspended since 2021.
President Lula highlighted the launch of a plan with “concrete initiatives for the next three years,” signaling a proactive approach to implementing the newly established strategic partnership. He also noted discussions regarding the resumption of free trade negotiations with South Korea, following a recent agreement with India on rare earth minerals. “We discussed ways to resume negotiations interrupted in 2021,” Lula said.
Beyond trade, the two countries signed ten memoranda of understanding (MOUs) covering a diverse range of sectors, including compact and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), healthcare, agriculture, space exploration, defense, and aviation. The agreements aim to foster collaboration and investment in these key areas. According to the DW, the recent economic and trade committee will discuss ways to facilitate cooperation in commerce, investment, agriculture, energy, and artificial intelligence.
President Lee also stressed the need to swiftly resume negotiations for a free trade agreement between South Korea and Mercosur, while President Lula expressed agreement that such a pact was an “urgent task.” Both leaders acknowledged the potential for expanding economic benefits to neighboring countries within the region. The South Korean government initiated free trade talks with Mercosur in 2018, but progress has been limited due to disagreements over market access.
