India and South Korea Relations

Introduction: Technology Meets Scale

The relationship between India and the Republic of Korea (ROK, South Korea) is one of the most complementary of India’s partnerships. It joins South Korea’s world-leading strength in advanced technology, manufacturing and capital with India’s market size, demographic scale and digital talent — a natural fit that both nations increasingly frame as the foundation of a future-ready industrial partnership.

The bond has a poetic origin too: as far back as 1929, Rabindranath Tagore hailed Korea as one of the ‘lamp-bearers’ of Asia’s golden age, *’waiting to be lit once again for the illumination of the East.’*

Two contemporary logics propel the relationship.

• First, both are middle powers committed to a multipolar, democratic Asia, wary of the shifting balance of power driven by a rising China.
• Second, both seek resilient, China-plus supply chains in strategic sectors like semiconductors, AI, batteries and clean energy.

The partnership has been steadily upgraded to a Special Strategic Partnership, and most recently given a fresh five-year roadmap through the Joint Strategic Vision (2026–2030).

The Key Drivers at a Glance Complementarity: Korean technology and capital meet Indian scale, talent and market. Supply-chain security: joint pursuit of China-plus resilience in semiconductors, AI and batteries. Strategic convergence: two democratic middle powers balancing a rising China in a multipolar Asia. Cultural resonance: an ancient Buddhist link and a modern wave of K-culture and people-to-people ties.

Historical Background

The oldest thread binding the two nations is Buddhism, which reached Korea in the fourth century AD; the faith deepened Indo-Korean interaction and was patronised by Emperor Ashoka, who is said to have sent iron and gold to help erect Buddhist statues in Korea.

A cherished legend even traces a Korean royal line to an Ayodhya princess — commemorated today in the sister-city ties between Ayodhya and Kimhae (declared 1999).

In the twentieth century, India played a notably constructive role in Korea’s affairs. India chaired the UN Temporary Commission on Korea (1947) that oversaw the 1948 elections, and during the Korean War (1950–53) it sponsored the ceasefire that both sides accepted on 21 July 1953, with Indian diplomacy at the 1954 Geneva Conference widely praised.

Yet the Cold War then divided them: India chose Non-Alignment while the ROK, under Syngman Rhee, anchored itself to the United States through a Mutual Defence Treaty (1953).

With India running a closed economy and Korea an open one, an early trade agreement (1974) bore little fruit, and ties remained shallow until India’s liberalisation.

Evolution of the Partnership

India’s economic opening from the 1990s transformed the relationship, which has since climbed a clear ladder of upgrades:

• 1985: Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) signed, later revised.
• 1993: P.V. Narasimha Rao becomes the first Indian PM to visit South Korea; space cooperation follows, with India’s PSLV launching Korea’s KITSAT-3 satellite in 1999.
• 2004: President Roh Moo-hyun’s visit yields a Long-Term Cooperative Partnership for Peace and Prosperity.
• 2009–10: The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is signed (2009) and enters into force (2010).
• 2010: Ties elevated to a Strategic Partnership during President Lee Myung-bak’s visit.
• 2015: PM Modi’s visit upgrades the relationship to a Special Strategic Partnership, introducing a ‘2+2’ dialogue.
• 2026: President Lee Jae-myung’s State Visit adopts the Joint Strategic Vision (2026–2030), targeting a doubling of trade.

The Ladder of Partnership Upgrades

2004 — Long-Term Cooperative Partnership

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2010 — Strategic Partnership | CEPA in force

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2015 — Special Strategic Partnership (2+2 dialogue)

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2026 — Joint Strategic Vision 2026–2030 (trade target $54 bn by 2030)

Significance of the Relationship

• Economic: Korea is a major source of FDI and technology for India — Samsung, LG, Hyundai and POSCO are household names — supporting ‘Make in India’ and India’s ambition of a $30-trillion economy by 2047.
• Technological: Cooperation in semiconductors, AI, batteries and advanced manufacturing is central to India’s drive for technological self-reliance and secure supply chains.
• Strategic: As fellow democracies and middle powers, both seek a stable, multipolar Indo-Pacific and cooperate on maritime security and regional balance.
• Cultural: A deep Buddhist heritage and the global reach of the Korean Wave (Hallyu) create a strong people-to-people foundation.

Areas of Cooperation

Economic and Trade Cooperation

The CEPA (in force 2010) is the cornerstone, cutting tariffs across thousands of lines (with sensitive textiles and agriculture excluded) and enabling India to become a leading exporter of IT and ITES while importing high-quality steel and heavy machinery.

Two-way trade stands at roughly $27 billion, and the 2026 Joint Strategic Vision sets a bold target of $54 billion by 2030 — requiring sustained ~18% annual growth.

To drive this, the two have created an India–Korea Industrial Cooperation Committee (chaired by industry ministers) and earlier launched the ‘Korea Plus’ investment-facilitation platform. Korean investment concentrates in manufacturing (autos, electronics, steel), while Indian investment in Korea is largely in services.

Technology, Digital and Green Cooperation

• Digital & core tech: an India–Korea Digital Bridge institutionalises IT collaboration, with joint R&D focused on AI and semiconductors, to be linked with India’s PLI schemes to attract Korean chip-fabrication.
• Green energy: South Korea has joined the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA), and India has joined the Seoul-headquartered Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) — with cooperation extending to clean energy and e-mobility.

Strategic and Defence Cooperation

Security ties have grown with the strategic partnership. An MoU on defence logistics and supplies (2005) was followed by pacts on humanitarian assistance and, in 2014, an agreement on the protection of classified military information — a marker of deep trust.

The Special Strategic Partnership (2015) introduced the regular ‘2+2′ Foreign and Defence Ministers’ Dialogue. Korea’s world-class shipbuilding and naval-combat technology is a natural fit for India: Hyundai Heavy Industries (Ulsan) has explored warship manufacturing with India.

Maritime alignment has deepened, with South Korea joining India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) and both linking industrial policies for supply-chain resilience.

Civil Nuclear Cooperation

India and the ROK signed a civil nuclear agreement in 2011. Korea is a global market leader — having built reactors for the UAE and Jordan — and has offered to build for India.

India, however, has adopted a ‘wait-and-watch’ approach, preferring joint research first and observing the performance of Korean reactors abroad before committing to commerce.

Cultural and People-to-People Ties

Cultural exchange is regular and warm — the ‘India Week’ in Korea and ‘Korea Week’ in India, the Ayodhya–Kimhae sister-city bond, and a planned Cultural Exchange Programme (2026–2030), even including a proposed K-pop hub in Mumbai to boost tourism and grassroots connect.

Issues and Challenges

• Skewed trade deficit: India runs a large, asymmetric deficit of around $15 billion — importing high-end electronics while exporting mostly low-value commodities.
• Outdated CEPA: the 2010 agreement’s restrictive Rules of Origin and coverage limit Indian export growth, making the ongoing CEPA upgrade essential.
• Non-tariff barriers: Indian steel, agro-products and pharmaceuticals face strict sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) hurdles in Korea, blunting India’s competitive strengths.
• Greenfield project failures: the collapse of the $12-billion POSCO steel plant in Odisha — abandoned in 2017 amid land-acquisition protests and regulatory delays — remains a cautionary tale for large Korean investments.
• Defence & tech limitations: actual defence procurement and high-tech co-production still lag the political warmth of the relationship.

Way Forward

• Rebalance trade via CEPA 2.0: use the upgrade to secure market access for Indian generics and engineering goods and modernise Rules of Origin.
• Anchor semiconductor integration: link the Digital Bridge with India’s PLI schemes to attract Korean chip-fabrication and battery units.
• Fix the investment climate: use the new Industrial Cooperation Committee for single-window clearances, preventing a repeat of POSCO-style bottlenecks.
• Deepen strategic and maritime ties: expand the 2+2, shipbuilding cooperation and Indo-Pacific coordination through the IPOI.
• Invest in cultural capital: roll out the cultural exchange and friendship-festival programmes to build durable people-to-people networks.

Conclusion

India and South Korea enjoy a partnership of exceptional promise — one where the pieces fit together almost perfectly: Korean technology, capital and hardware on one side, Indian scale, talent and market on the other.

From an ancient Buddhist link and India’s principled role in the Korean War, the relationship has climbed steadily to a Special Strategic Partnership with a fresh 2026–2030 vision and a doubling-of-trade ambition.

The key drivers — complementarity, supply-chain security and strategic convergence against the backdrop of a rising China — are compelling and durable.

What will decide the outcome is execution: closing the trade gap through a modernised CEPA, fixing the investment climate so that flagship projects succeed, and converting political trust into hard co-production. If both can do so, few partnerships are better placed to shape a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.