House Speaker travelled to Hungary’s largest foreign investor – UPDATED

László Kövér, the Speaker of Parliament, has arrived in Seoul for an official visit, Parliament’s press office said on Monday.

Kövér had talks with Chang-Yang Lee, the trade, industry and energy minister, and referred to South Korea as Hungary’s key strategic partner in the region … in terms of trade and investments”, adding that Hungary was committed to the further development of relations. In 2019 and 2021, South Korea was the largest foreign investor in Hungary, with investments worth more than 6.8 billion US dollars in 2020. In 2020, 130 Korean companies employed 15,206 people in Hungary, and the Hungarian government has strategic agreements with multiple Korean companies, he noted.

As well as the manufacture of machines, batteries and parts, Hungary wants to make use of cooperation opportunities in the areas of space research and nuclear energy, he said. In 2024, a meeting of the Hungary-Korea mixed economic committee will be held in Budapest, he further noted. Chang-Yang Lee said Hungary provided a stable and secure economic environment for South Korean companies, according to the parliamentary press office statement. The officials also discussed the training of industrial professionals in Hungary, and cooperation in the training of engineers.

met the head and members of the Korean-Hungarian friendship section of the Korean National Assembly, as well as those of the Korean Hungarian Friendship Society. Also, he visited the Liszt Institute in Seoul and was briefed about bilateral cultural relations. On Tuesday, the speaker will have official talks with Kim Jin-pyo, President of the Korean National Assembly.

Parliament speaker holds talks with S Korean counterpart

László Kövér, the speaker of Hungary’s parliament, met Kim Jin-pyo, his South Korean counterpart, for talks in Seoul, the press office of parliament told MTI in a statement on Tuesday. At the talks, Kövér called Hungary’s partnership with South Korea “a success story” in terms of building international relations. Hungarian-South Korean relations have steadily developed since 1989, the year when the two countries’ leaders made “a wise decision” to establish diplomatic relations, he said, adding that relations had by now been elevated to a strategic level.

The government’s foreign policy decision of opening to the east in 2010 has also been vindicated by the fact that South Korea has been the most active investor in Hungary over the past three years, Kövér said. The Hungarian speaker underlined the important role South Korea plays in connecting Hungary, central Europe and the whole of Europe with the eastern part of the Euro-Asian region. He said that in addition to regular cooperation between committees, friendship chapters and offices, Hungary’s parliament was ready to cooperate with South Korea in international organisations on promoting the protection of common values and interests.

Kövér welcomed the launch of direct flights between Budapest and Seoul in the summer which he said would hopefully help return bilateral business and tourism ties to a pre-pandemic level. He underlined the importance of education cooperation, noting state grants offered under the Stipendium Hungaricum scheme to 100 South Korean students in 2024. At the talks, Kim Jin-pyo said that South Korean investments in Hungary had boosted not only bilateral ties but the economic growth of his country as well. South Korea seeks to strengthen cooperation with Hungary also in the areas of education, science, culture and tourism, he said. Kim thanked the Hungarian government for supporting Pusan’s candidacy to host the 2030 world expo.