S. Korea, Argentina agree to expand crude oil imports next year, finalize double-taxation treaty

President Lee Jae Myung and Argentine President Javier Milei shake hands after an official photo session at the welcome ceremony at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Friday (local time). [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung held a summit with Argentine President Javier Milei in Argentina on Friday (local time), agreeing to begin importing Argentine crude oil starting next year and finalizing a bilateral double-taxation prevention treaty.

The two leaders met for a 25-minute pre-summit consultation followed by a 58-minute summit.

Wi Sung-lac, director of the National Security Office, announced the outcomes at a press briefing in Buenos Aires.

"South Korean companies conducted a pilot import of Argentine crude oil this year, and on that basis, imports are set to begin next year," Wi said. "Both governments agreed to cooperate to ensure that the crude oil imports scheduled to begin next year proceed in a stable manner."

The volume of Argentine crude oil entering South Korea through this year's pilot program stands at 880,000 barrels. The volume to be imported next year has not yet been determined, Wi said.

Wi added that South Korea's imports of Argentine crude are expected to keep growing, given President Milei's stated ambition to increase his country's energy exports fivefold.

The two countries also agreed to expand energy cooperation beyond crude oil to include natural gas and nuclear power, and to jointly identify specific cooperation projects.

"This is expected to broaden South Korea's crude oil import sources — currently concentrated in the Middle East — into South America, reduce geopolitical uncertainty and strengthen our energy supply resilience," Wi said.

The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on critical minerals cooperation during the visit. Wi said the two sides agreed to share information on critical minerals policies and investment regimes, and to pursue investment and joint projects between their companies across the full lithium value chain, including exploration and mining. He added that Argentina reaffirmed its commitment to supporting South Korean companies' lithium projects, and that the two sides plan to expand investment opportunities for Korean companies into new critical minerals sectors such as copper.

President Lee Jae Myung holds a summit with Chilean President José Antonio Kast at the presidential palace in Santiago on Thursday (local time). [Yonhap]

The two countries also finalized a double-taxation prevention treaty on the sidelines of the summit.

"This is expected to reduce the double-taxation burden on South Korean companies operating in Argentina and improve the predictability of the investment environment," Wi said.

The two countries also agreed to push for the early resumption of trade agreement negotiations between South Korea and Mercosur, aiming to expand South Korean companies' access to the South American market.

In the food sector, the two sides agreed to actively pursue consultations to have South Korea designated as a high-sanitation surveillance country by Argentina. The move is intended to reduce the time and cost required to register South Korean food products locally and to expand the presence of Korean food in the Argentine market.

President Lee Jae Myung poses for a photo with Argentine President Javier Milei ahead of their pre-summit consultation at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Friday (local time). Pictured from left: Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, President Lee Jae Myung, President Javier Milei and Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno. [Yonhap]

To that end, the two countries agreed to reactivate the Joint Economic Committee and the Energy and Resources Cooperation Committee. Wi said the Joint Economic Committee will broadly review trade, investment, corporate difficulties and market access issues, while the Energy and Resources Cooperation Committee will focus on cooperation projects covering lithium, copper, crude oil and gas, and nuclear power.

President Milei also emphasized that regulatory reform has been a key priority for his government and urged South Korea to invest actively in Argentina, Wi said.

"Argentina's property rights protection system has been strengthened through various legislative measures — the business environment has improved," Milei said, proposing to deepen cooperation centered on energy, food security and critical minerals.

President Lee Jae Myung and Argentine President Javier Milei pose for an official photo at the welcome ceremony at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires on Friday (local time). [Yonhap]

The two countries also agreed to pursue the early conclusion of a mutual driver's license recognition agreement and to identify new cooperation projects in defense, space, Antarctica and public health.

They further agreed to expand cultural exchange, education cooperation and people-to-people ties to broaden interaction between the two countries' younger generations.

Meanwhile, Korean Peninsula peace — a major agenda item at the summit with Brazil — was largely absent from the expanded summit with Argentina on Friday, Wi said.

"At Saturday's expanded summit, economic cooperation and AI were the main topics discussed, rather than Korean Peninsula peace," Wi said. "In Brazil's case, it has extensive ties with North Korea, which is why the issue came up more prominently there."

Asked whether the strained relationship between President Milei and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva could negatively affect trade negotiations between South Korea and Mercosur, Wi said: "There are various issues between Brazil and Argentina, but there is no particular disagreement when it comes to Mercosur."

moone@heraldcorp.com