The Mercosur Summit Meeting held in December this year
Official Announcement of the Resumption of Negotiations with South Korea
Suspended after the 7th round of negotiations in 2021
Reactivated after 5 years due to the joint agreement between the two leaders
Korean traditional clothier at the State Dinner
Korean businessmen Ryu Jin, Jang Jin-hwa, Jo Won-tae, etc. will also attend the cultural event and exchange with the Brazilian side
사진 확대 President Lee Jae Myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Dásouva are taking a commemorative photo at a cultural performance and welcome reception hosted by Brazil’s president and his wife at the Foreign Ministry in Brasilia on the 27th (local time). From left, Mrs. Kim Hea Kyung, President Lee Jae Myung, President Lula, and Mrs. Hozanzela D’Ashuva. 2026.7.28 Yonhap News
President Lee Jae Myung and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Dasouva have decided to effectively formalize the re-promotion of the trade agreement (TA) between Korea and Mercosur (South American Economic Community) and launch a working group to prepare for it. Brazilian President Lula, Mercosur’s fierce opponent, decided to play a role in officially announcing the resumption of negotiations with South Korea at the 69th Mercosur Summit scheduled for December.
“The two leaders agreed that negotiations on a trade agreement between South Korea and Mercosur are a key foundation for a new leap forward in economic cooperation between the two countries in the face of growing uncertainties in the international trade environment,” presidential spokesman Kang Yoo-jung said in a written briefing after the Korea-Brazil summit in Brasilia on the 27th (local time). “We agreed to establish a bilateral working group between South Korea and Brazil that analyzes trade opportunities and sensitivity to announce the resumption of negotiations in the wake of the Mercosur summit in December this year.”
South Korea first pushed for a trade agreement with Mercosur in 2018. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia are participating in Mercosur.
However, official negotiations were suspended after the seventh round of negotiations between August and September 2021 due to South American countries concerned about weakening their manufacturing base and South Korea’s burden of opening up agricultural and livestock products.
Mercosur countries are imposing high tariffs on automotive parts, steel, electronics, and chemicals, including tariffs of up to 35% on finished vehicles. Accordingly, if the South American giant market opens up, the price competitiveness of key Korean products such as automobiles, batteries, and home appliances is expected to strengthen.
In addition, President Lee and President Lula discussed cooperation measures in various fields such as resources, energy, defense, space, and aviation at the summit and adopted the ‘Korea-Brazil Summit Joint Statement’. Details of the statement are expected to be released soon.
사진 확대 (Brazilian = News1) Reporter Huh Kyung = President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a state dinner held at the presidential residence in Brazil on the 27th (local time). (Co-interview) 2026.7.28/News1
Meanwhile, a state luncheon was held to welcome President Lee after the summit.
The luncheon was prepared by Chef Mara Salles, Brazil’s representative chef, and the cover of the menu on the luncheon table contained the work of the “Saving Lord Christ the Redeemer statue of Hanbok Media Facade” using the Rio de Janeiro giant Jesus statue of designer Lee Jin-hee, a promotional ambassador for Jinju Silk.
In addition, Kang expressed special hospitality to the Korean delegation, such as preparing a work of “Oksa Silk Paper” using traditional Korean cloth techniques.
Since then, 13 people have attended cultural performances and receptions at the Itamarachi Palace of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, including Ryu Jin, chairman of the Korea Business Association, Chang In-hwa, chairman of POSCO, Cho Won-tae, chairman of Korean Air, and Park Seung-hee, president of Samsung Electronics.
At the cultural performance, Paula Lima, a singer and composer from Sao Paulo, and Daniel Lee, a soloist from the municipal choir of the Sao Paulo Municipal Theater, sang Brazil’s bossa nova masterpiece “Ipanema’s Girl” and Korean pop song “Evergreen.”
Sao Paulo/Reporter Oh Soo-hyun