Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Seoul on Monday for talks with President Lee Jae-myung, with nuclear energy cooperation and trade imbalances topping the agenda.
In an interview with Yonhap published the same day, Erdogan said Turkey views South Korea as a leading candidate to help build a new nuclear power plant, potentially sited in Sinop. That would be separate from the Akkuyu nuclear plant, which Turkey has been developing with Russia’s Rosatom since 2010 and which is expected to come partially online by the end of 2026 after years of delay.
“We regard the Republic of Korea as a great potential collaborator on this initiative,” Erdogan told Yonhap. “We attach considerable importance to the negotiations we are holding with Korea on this topic. We are well aware of our Korean friends’ experience with nuclear energy.”
Erdogan said Turkey is also weighing its options with other countries on nuclear cooperation but will act “in light of our national interests.” Turkey’s energy minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, disclosed in 2023 that his office had opened talks with Chinese officials on possible nuclear collaboration as well.
A Year-Old Memorandum
The nuclear discussion builds on a memorandum of understanding Lee signed with Erdogan during a visit to Turkey last year, which Turkish state media outlet Anadolu Agency said covered cooperation on “reactor technology, site assessment, licensing, financing, and business models.” Erdogan has said feasibility studies on where to begin that cooperation are already underway.
Erdogan has made nuclear development a signature project of his presidency. “Like many important projects, Akkuyu was realized with a financing model that does not burden our national budget. Akkuyu is our biggest joint investment with Russia,” he said in 2023.
Trade Imbalance and Shipping Routes
Beyond nuclear cooperation, Erdogan used the Yonhap interview to press for a more balanced trade relationship, noting that South Korea currently exports far more to Turkey than it imports in return. “We have set a target of $15 billion in bilateral trade volume. As we work toward this goal, we prioritize developing a more balanced trade structure, expanding investment, and encouraging greater collaboration in production,” he said.
Erdogan also pointed to Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as a disruption affecting both countries’ trade. “The current crisis has once again demonstrated just how vital it is to develop reliable alternative routes for international trade,” he said. “We would like to see greater participation by Korean companies in Turkiye’s regional transport and logistics investments.”
Defense Ties Already Deep
The visit also comes amid an existing defense relationship between the two countries. Turkey has built a major export business around its Bayraktar attack drones, with producer Baykar claiming Turkish firms controlled as much as 65 percent of the global drone market by 2024. After the 2023 G20 summit, Erdogan signed an agreement with Seoul to expand South Korean investment in Turkish drone technology.
South Korea, under former conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol — later ousted and imprisoned after attempting to impose martial law in 2024 — had pursued defense cooperation with Turkey and other Middle Eastern states, including sales of Korean tanks and artillery. By the end of 2023, South Korean officials said they were nearing completion of a broader defense industry cooperation agreement with Erdogan’s government.
