The Tamesis
April 20, 2026
New Delhi – President Lee Jae-myung said his upcoming summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi could take South Korea-India relations to “a completely different level” as the ongoing war in the Middle East highlights the importance of closer cooperation.
Lee Myung-bak admitted that “the relationship between the two countries has not yet achieved the development it deserves”, but also pointed out that since the establishment of a special strategic partnership between the two countries in 2015, the two countries have made “considerable progress” in a wide range of fields such as politics, economy and culture.
Lee Myung-bak gave opening remarks at a dinner with South Korean residents of India at a New Delhi hotel on Sunday, following a closed-door meeting with Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar.
Lee Myung-bak said he and Jaishankar “agreed that cooperation between South Korea and India has long been stagnant and unsatisfactory,” referring to discussions held before the event. The Republic of Korea is the official name of South Korea.
“The Indian authorities also agree that the level of cooperation between South Korea and India is quite low compared to India’s huge potential,” Lee said.
“Therefore, tomorrow’s summit is very likely to be an opportunity for South Korea-India relations to develop to a completely different level than now,” Lee added.
Lee pointed out that about 10,000 Korean companies have entered Vietnam, while the number in India is only about 600 to 700. Lee added that the number of Koreans living in India is only about 12,000, a very small number compared with the 1.46 billion population of India, the world’s most populous country.
“India is no longer just a consumer market, it has now become a key country driving global production and supply chains. And it will continue to grow further,” Li stressed.
Lee further emphasized the growing importance of the partnership between Seoul and New Delhi amid the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which has closed the Strait of Hormuz and disrupted energy supplies to Seoul and New Delhi.
“Due to the impact of the war in the Middle East, supply chain instability and the global economic crisis are becoming an ongoing reality, South Korea and India will become each other’s most important strategic partners,” Lee said. “India, like South Korea, relies heavily on overseas sources of raw materials and energy. In this sense, there will be considerable room for cooperation between South Korea and India.”
According to Cheong Wa Dae, 61% of South Korea’s crude oil imports and 54% of its naphtha imports passed through the strait last year. India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said about 90% of LPG imports, which supply about 60% of domestic demand, pass through the strait. However, diversification efforts have increased the share of crude oil imports arriving via routes outside Hormuz to 70% from around 55% previously.
Lee Myung-bak has repeatedly emphasized that the current partnership between Seoul and New Delhi does not match India’s economic strength.
“India is the fourth largest economy in the world and is expected to become the third largest economy soon. In comparison, the level of economic cooperation with South Korea is really low,” Lee said. “Going forward, we will expand this so that the relationship between South Korea and India is completely different than it is now.”
Lee also tells the story of the first generation of Koreans in India, former prisoners of war who refused to be repatriated to South Korea or North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean War, choosing instead to resettle in a third country, India.
Lee expressed “deep respect for the passion and dedication” of the first-generation Korean residents of India who overcame hardship and rebuilt their lives.
“India’s Korean community — where compatriots from the north and south live together — points to the need for us to build a peaceful and prosperous future on the Korean peninsula,” Lee said.
Lee’s comments came hours after North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East China Sea on Sunday, according to South Korea’s military.
Lee Myung-bak’s three-day state visit is the first state visit to India by a South Korean president in eight years, following then-President Moon Jae-in’s visit to India in July 2018. Lee Myung-bak’s visit was arranged in the shortest time after the new government took office among all previous Korean governments.
