Yoon's state visit to Netherlands to focus on semiconductor cooperation

▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) shakes hands with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during their talks over lunch in Vilnius, Lithuania, in this file photo taken July 11, 2023, on the sidelines of a two-day summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Yoon-Netherlands visit

Yoon's state visit to Netherlands to focus on semiconductor cooperation

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol will use his upcoming state visit to the Netherlands to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the semiconductor industry, his office said Friday.

Yoon is scheduled to visit the Netherlands from Dec. 11-14 at the invitation of Dutch King Willem-Alexander, becoming the first South Korean president to pay a state visit to the European nation since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1961. He will be joined by first lady Kim Keon Hee.

"The Netherlands, which is the biggest investor in South Korea among the member states of the European Union and the second-largest trade partner after Germany, is one of the world's leading producers of chipmaking equipment and our key partner in the global semiconductor supply chain," the presidential office said in a press release.

"The president's state visit to the Netherlands is expected to further deepen bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and semiconductors, and contribute to building a stable semiconductor supply chain," it said.

Yoon and the first lady will begin their visit by holding a dinner meeting with Korean residents in Amsterdam on Dec. 11.

The next day, they will attend an official welcome ceremony hosted by the King and Queen Maxima at Dam Square in the Dutch capital, before attending a reception at the Royal Palace, laying a wreath at a war memorial on Dam Square, and then returning to the palace for a friendly luncheon with the King and the Queen.

Later that day, Yoon and the King will visit the headquarters of top chipmaking equipment manufacturer ASML in Veldhoven, where the two leaders plan to tour key facilities together with the company's chief executive, Peter Wennink, and discuss ways to strengthen the two countries' partnership in the areas of semiconductor supply chains and technological innovation.

A state banquet will be held at the palace in the evening, with the attendance of key figures from the two countries' political, financial, cultural and science sectors. Yoon and the King are both scheduled to deliver speeches.

On Dec. 13, the third day of his visit, Yoon will travel to The Hague, the seat of the Dutch government, and hold a joint meeting with the leaders of both chambers of the Dutch parliament, before holding talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Yoon and Rutte will then hold a joint press conference, attend a memorandum of understanding signing ceremony, and a luncheon hosted by the prime minister.

In addition, the two leaders will visit the Mauritshuis art museum and the Yi Jun Peace Museum, which honors the Korean diplomat and prosecutor who, along with two other Koreans, was dispatched by Emperor Gojong in 1907 to attend the Second Hague Peace Conference in the city and call attention to the unlawfulness of Japan's colonization of Korea.

The mission failed, and Yi was found dead in his hotel room a few days later.

After returning to Amsterdam the same day, Yoon will meet with Dutch veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War together with the King and later attend a South Korea-Netherlands business forum attended by key business leaders from the two countries.

The Netherlands sent more than 5,000 troops to fight alongside South Korea during the war.

In the evening, the president and the first lady will attend a cultural performance in Amsterdam hosted by the South Korean government in honor of the King and the Queen.

They will depart the next day to return home.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved