The Lee Jae Myung Mexico visit got under way on Wednesday night, Sept. 23, when the South Korean president’s plane touched down in Mexico City. It is a state visit, the first by a South Korean president to Mexico in 16 years. On Thursday, Lee sits down with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for summit talks, and the two leaders are then due to oversee the signing of several memorandums of understanding, share a luncheon and hold a joint press announcement. Seoul says it wants closer ties on trade, investment, energy and critical mineral supply chains, though no results had been announced when this report was written. Lee flew in from the United States, where he attended the UN General Assembly as part of a trip that runs from Sept. 21 to Sept. 27.
What to expect from the Lee Jae Myung Mexico visit
Thursday begins with a wreath-laying at the Monument to the Boy Heroes, followed by a welcome ceremony at the National Palace. Lee and Sheinbaum will then meet privately, hold an expanded summit and oversee the signing of the MOUs. A luncheon and joint press briefing come next, and in the evening Lee will host a dinner for Koreans living in Mexico. On Friday, Sept. 25, he will attend a business forum at the World Trade Center and visit the K-Expo venue. He is due to fly home on the morning of Sept. 26.
Why Mexico matters to Korean business
Lee made the economic case for the Lee Jae Myung Mexico visit himself in an interview with the Mexican newspaper El Universal, published Wednesday. He called Mexico a “key strategic platform“ for reaching North American markets and said Korean companies see it as more than a place to build products. In his view, Mexico’s car industry and supplier network pair well with South Korea’s strength in electric vehicle batteries and parts. He also named semiconductors, aerospace and defense as sectors with room to grow. Reuters reported that Seoul sees openings in defense as Mexico modernizes its military.
The free trade deal that never arrived
A free trade agreement, or FTA, lowers tariffs between two countries, and Seoul and Mexico City have been circling one for years. They set it as a goal after 2000, but talks were suspended in 2008, and the Korea Herald says little has moved since both sides agreed to restart them in 2022. On May 12, the governments signed a joint ministerial declaration instead, creating a trade and investment framework with a ministerial dialogue and a working group, according to Mexico Business News. Korean officials say tariffs Mexico raised on countries without trade deals leave Korean firms at a disadvantage against rivals that have them. The coming review of the USMCA, the trade pact linking Mexico, the United States and Canada, adds to that uncertainty. The same outlet reports that more than 2,000 Korean companies operate in Mexico, with investment concentrated in Nuevo Leon, Baja California and Mexico City.
Culture and the K-pop question
Reuters described Mexico as South Korea’s largest market for K-pop, so culture is a real part of the Lee Jae Myung Mexico visit and not just decoration. On Sept. 3, Sheinbaum said a K-pop group younger than BTS would come to Mexico in connection with Lee’s visit, without saying who. The Korea Herald pointed out that Stray Kids has a festival in Mexico City on Sept. 25 and 26, but said it is unclear whether they are the group she meant. BTS played sold-out shows in the city in May, and Sheinbaum met the band on May 6. According to the JoongAng Daily, Lee said the two countries have agreed to pursue joint cultural production, professional training mechanisms and “K-culture centers.”
What is still unknown
Neither government had published the list of agreements signed at the summit when this report was written. Three questions will decide how much the Lee Jae Myung Mexico visit changes in practice: which MOUs are actually signed, whether the leaders revive free trade talks or stay with the new framework, and whether the promised K-pop act appears at official events. For Korean manufacturers in Mexico, the tariff issue and the USMCA review are the real stakes behind the ceremonies. HCN will update this report when the summit results are published.
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