Credit: MESR
On Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 July 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, and the Minister for Digitalisation, Minister for Research and Higher Education, Stéphanie Obertin, went on a working visit to the Republic of Korea.
The first part of the visit was notably marked by the official inauguration of the Luxembourg resident embassy in Seoul, in the presence of the two ministers.
Minister Bettel welcomed this opening which aims to strengthen relations between the two countries in the political, economic, cultural and research fields. The minister also welcomed the decision taken by the Korean government to open a resident embassy in Luxembourg.
These positive developments demonstrate the close friendship between Luxembourg and South Korea – a historical ally, member of the G20 and sharing the same democratic values, the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade added.
Exhibition "Luxembourg's volunteers in the Korean War"
The Ministers were also able to participate in the opening ceremony of the exhibition "Luxembourg's volunteers in the Korean War". This exhibition, designed by the National Museum of Military History in Diekirch (Musée National d'Histoire Militaire Diekirch – MMNHM), will be shown at the War Memorial in Seoul during July, August and September 2024.
In his speech, Minister Bettel stressed the need to teach history, particularly through exhibitions such as this one, to never forget the importance of peace and respect for international law. He paid tribute to the memory of the 85 Luxembourg volunteers who fought, under a UN mandate, alongside the armed forces of the Republic of Korea to repel the aggression of the North Korean army in 1950. Two of these Luxembourg soldiers fell during the fighting, while sixteen were wounded. This was the only Luxembourg military intervention after 1945 during which Luxembourg sent soldiers to the front.
Programme remaining focused on economy, research
In addition to these two solemn events, Minister Bettel had a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Patriots and Veterans, Kang Jung-Ai. He was also able to meet with leaders of Korean industrial companies and participate in a conference on Luxembourg as an entry platform for Korean information and communication technologies as well as for the space ecosystem, with a particular focus on cybersecurity and a data-driven economy, the ministries noted.
Minister Obertin’s programme was also part of the strengthening of bilateral relations between Luxembourg and South Korea, intending to promote cooperation in the fields of research and innovation.
In the context of the establishment of research cooperation in precision medicine and data-driven medicine, particularly for the benefit of cancer patients, the Minister met the Mayor of the city of Goyang and visited the National Cancer Center (NCC) in Goyang. She attended the signing of memoranda of understanding between the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) and the city of Goyang as well as the NCC with a view to this cooperation. She also visited the Samsung Medical Center (SMC) and in particular its Research Center for Future Medicine.
Another potential area of collaboration is research in the space sector, the ministries added. The minister visited the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology and its dusty thermal vacuum chamber, the largest in the world.
