South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for deeper economic cooperation with Mongolia during a business forum on July 9, urging the two countries to expand collaboration in critical minerals, infrastructure and advanced industries as they seek to strengthen trade and investment ties.
Speaking at the Korea-Mongolia Business Forum in Ulaanbaatar during his state visit, Lee said the two countries have complementary strengths that position them for broader long-term economic cooperation.
“Both countries have distinct competitive advantages in different sectors, creating enormous potential for partnership,” Lee told business leaders attending the forum alongside Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh.
Lee highlighted the growing economic and cultural ties between the two countries, noting that Ulaanbaatar has earned the nickname “Mongtan” among young South Koreans—a blend of “Mongolia” and Dongtan, a planned city south of Seoul—because of the widespread presence of South Korean convenience stores and supermarkets. He also pointed to Seoul’s Dongdaemun district, home to a well-established Mongolian community.
About one in 10 Mongolians has worked in South Korea, Lee said, describing the two countries as indispensable partners with increasingly close people-to-people ties.
He called for expanding the “Mongtan” model, in which South Korean retailers provide technology and operational expertise while Mongolian companies make direct investments and manage local businesses.
Lee said wider adoption of the model would require greater investment in logistics infrastructure, including distribution centers and cold-chain networks, as well as expanded workforce training and technology exchanges. He added that cooperation could extend beyond retail to consumer goods, financial services, healthcare, education and artificial intelligence.
Lee identified critical minerals as a strategic pillar of future cooperation.
He said Mongolia’s abundant reserves of copper, molybdenum, tungsten and rare earth elements, combined with South Korea’s strengths in technology, capital and logistics, could create significant supply-chain synergies.
Lee also called for closer cooperation on infrastructure investment and regulatory frameworks, saying stronger institutional support is needed to allow businesses to trade and invest more freely.
He said the two governments’ announcement that negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, had concluded in principle would mark a turning point in bilateral economic cooperation.
