Samsung Electronics Vice-Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice-Chairman Chung Eui-sun attended the luncheon
PM Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in deliver a joint press statement following delegation level talks in Seoul. (Photo: Twitter/@MEAIndia)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the de facto heads of Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, the two biggest conglomerates of South Korea, during a state lunch at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul.
Samsung Electronics Vice-Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun attended the luncheon at the request of the Government of India to discuss their business operations in India, The Korea Herald reported.
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Samsung runs a smartphone factory in Noida, which opened in July 2018. Having entered the Indian market in 1995, the company also has a TV and home appliance factory in Chennai and a research and development centre in Bangalore.
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Lee had hosted visited a meeting between PM Modi and Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Noida plant last year.
During the luncheon on Friday, President Moon mentioned the visit in his welcome speech. “I vividly remember when I and Prime Minister Modi took a metro to attend Samsung’s ceremony for the Noida plant last July,” he said, according to The Korea Herald report.
On the other hand, Hyundai Motor has a plant in Chennai since 1996, and plans to expand it.
Chung Eui-sun met Modi in 2015, when the PM was on a state visit to Korea. They had another meeting when Chung visited India in 2016.
He came to India in February 2018 too for the Korea-India Business Summit in New Delhi, when he along with Modi rode in a Nexo, Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel-cell car.
It could not be immediately known what was discussed at the lunch meet.
Meanwhile, PM Modi left for India after the luncheon on Friday.
Calling the short trip a “memorable” one, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted: “You can do a lot in 31-hours!”
“Our special strategic partnership with Korea has further deepened following the visit,” he added.
During his trip, PM Narendra Modi was awarded the Seoul Peace Prize 2018 in recognition of “his dedication to improving international cooperation, contributing to the growth of the Indian and global economies & furthering the development of democracy”.
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