PM Modi said he looks forward to working with Yoon Suk-yeol to further expand and strengthen ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated Republic of Korea’s President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on his victory in the Presidential elections.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "I warmly congratulate President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on his victory in Presidential elections. I look forward to working with him to further expand and strengthen the India-ROK Special Strategic Partnership.”

In what was one of the closest fought races in the country’s recent history, Conservative South Korean opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol was elected president.

Yoon, the leader of the main opposition People Power Party had edged past ruling Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung with 48.6% of the vote to 47.8%, with more than 98% of the ballots counted early morning on Thursday.

India-Republic of Korea (RoK) relations has made great strides in recent years and have become truly multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill and high level exchanges.

Bilateral ties between the two countries were raised to the level of 'Strategic Partnership' during the visit to India by the previous President of ROK Lee Myung-bak in January 2010 and further elevated to ‘Special Strategic Partnership’ during the visit of PM Modi to ROK in 2015.

Thereafter, Prime Minister Modi had paid a state visit to the Republic of Korea in February 2019 at the invitation of former President Moon jae-in, during which both sides held wide ranging discussions on defense, economic, culture and science cooperation.

During the 2019 visit, the two leaders had signed six MOUs were signed on start-ups, joint issue of postal stamp, combating trans-border and international crime, trade facilitation, roadways and media.