15th August is the most important date in India, as it celebrates Independence Day. So is true for South Korea! In 1945, on 15th August, Korea was liberated from its occupation by Japan and, exactly three years later, on August 15, 1948, the Republic of Korea was officially established, making the date celebratory as National Liberation Day of Korea or Korean Independence Day. This is not the only connection between the two countries. According to records, the history of India-South Korea ties dates back to 48 AD when an Indian princess ‘Suriratna’ from Ayodhya married King Kim-Suro, and became Queen Hur Hwang-ok. “In the golden age of Asia, Korea was one of its lamp bearers, and that lamp is waiting to be lit once again for the illumination of the East”, Rabindranath Tagore once said in his evocative poem ‘Lamp of the East’.
India already stands as S.Korea’s seventh-largest exports market. India is also one of the top priorities in South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s New Southern Policy which oscillates in tandem with PM Modi’s emphasis on India’s Act East Policy. South Korea’s technological competence & capital base has, in recent years, been able to strike a good match with India’s lucrative market potential and ever-expanding consumer base.
In line with the common vision for cooperation and growth, both the country had signed six MOUs and bilateral agreements during the S.Korean leader’s visit to India in 2018. To further ease business issues, the government of India has established a Korea Plus initiative to facilitate numerous business queries. Reciprocating on similar lines, the South Korean government is setting up strategy groups & centres for promoting research and cooperation between the two countries. The Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency is also spreading its work in India.
Further, many popular S.Korean brands are already on an expansion mode in India, with many of them becoming a household name in India – from a Samsung mobile phone, a Hyundai vehicle to an LG home device. Electronics giant Samsung’s Phone factory in Noida is the world’s largest mobile phone factory. Also, Samsung and LG Electronics have established their largest R&D facilities in Bangalore, outside Korea. Hyundai’s R&D centre in Hyderabad is one of its five global hubs (others being in Korea, the US, China & Germany). While LG plans to create export hubs in India, Hyundai Motors had announced its aim to further its manufacturing capability here. Other companies include the ‘Lotte Group’, which has lined up $3 – 5 Bon in potential India investment in the next five years. Kia Motors is planning to invest around $2 bn to build a facility in Andhra Pradesh.
US-China Trade war made major South Korean exporters (Samsung and Hyundai) face grand losses. South Korean companies have to move manufacturing outside China as it is becoming increasingly challenging due to its recent imposition of economic sanctions on South Korea. Thus, countries like India, which offer less complex business and investment framework and cheaper labour, are no less than a natural destination for South Korea to strengthen its economic portfolio and cut down its dependence on its two traditional trade allies i.e. US & China.
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