Republic of Korea

2011

• Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong visited the ROK on 29 November to attend the Eminent Persons Group meeting for the 2nd Nuclear Security Summit.   

• Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong visited the ROK from 4 – 6 September to deliver the keynote address at the J-Global Forum. During the visit, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh called on President Lee Myung-bak.  

• The 4th run of the ROK Directors-General Visit Programme, which was held from 7 – 11 August, saw the visit of several senior ROK officials to Singapore to exchange ideas and develop a deeper understanding of Singapore’s policies.  Senior officials from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Prime Minister's Office, Policy Analysis Bureau, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Statistical Training Institute and Public Safety Department called on Second Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew.  

• ROK National Assemblyman and former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Song Min-soon visited Singapore from 7 – 11 August under the MFA Distinguished Visitors Programme. 

• Minister for National Defence Kim Kwan-Jin visited Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue which ran from 3 – 5 June.  

• Speaker of Parliament Abdullah Tarmugi represented Singapore at the G20 Speakers' Consultation gathering in Seoul, ROK on 18 – 20 May. 

• Former ROK President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Global Green Growth Institute Dr Han Seung-soo visited Singapore from 26 – 27 March, where he called on Senior Minister S Jayakumar and President S R Nathan.
  
  

Singapore and the ROK enjoy multifaceted and excellent relations that are founded on strong economic cooperation.  The Korea-Singapore Free Trade Agreement, signed on 4 August 2005 by Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban Ki-moon, took effect on 2 March 2006 and marked a key milestone in bilateral relations.  In 2011, the ROK was Singapore's 8th largest trading partner, with bilateral trade growing 6.1% from the year before to S$46.8 billion, while Singapore was the ROK's 9th largest trading partner.

Both sides also enjoy a regular exchange of high-level visits.  In 2009, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong met President Lee Myung-bak when the former made his first official visit to the ROK in conjunction with the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit.  In 2010, President Lee made a bilateral visit to Singapore and delivered the keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue.  Both leaders also underscored our strong bilateral ties when they met during President Lee's visit to Singapore for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in 2009 and when Prime Minister Lee attended the G20 Seoul Summit in November 2010.  In March 2012, Prime Minister Lee participated in the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit at the invitation of President Lee.

• Singapore Embassy in Seoul