This article covers trade and investment between India and the Republic of Korea (ROK): trade figures and the main goods traded, the negotiations to upgrade the CEPA, investment in both directions, the financial sector, and the mechanisms that support business and startups. It is based on the MEA brief of July 2026, and all figures are as of that brief.

Trade figures

According to the MEA brief of July 2026, trade and economic relations gathered momentum following the implementation of the CEPA in 2010. Bilateral trade stood at USD 25.6 billion in 2025. In that year India's imports from the ROK were USD 19.2 billion and its exports USD 6.4 billion.

The brief gives two earlier reference points. Bilateral trade reached a record level of USD 27.8 billion in 2022, and it stood at USD 25.1 billion in 2024.

Main goods traded

The brief lists India's major exports to the ROK as:

  • light oils and preparations
  • aluminium and refined lead
  • mineral fuels and oil distillates, mainly naphtha
  • cereals
  • iron and steel

The ROK's main exports to India are listed as automobile parts, telecommunication equipment, hot rolled iron products, petroleum refined products, base lubricating oils, mechanical appliances, electrical machinery parts, and iron and steel products.

CEPA upgrade negotiations

A Joint Declaration on Resuming & Expediting CEPA Upgrade Negotiations for Early Conclusion by first half of 2027 was announced at the summit meeting during the State visit of 19-21 April 2026. The 12th round of CEPA upgrade negotiations was held in Delhi on 25-27 May 2026, and the brief states that the 13th round was likely to take place at the end of August 2026.

Commerce and Industry Minister Shri Piyush Goyal met ROK Trade Minister Mr. Yeo Han-koo in New Delhi on 20 April 2026, in a discussion focused on resuming and advancing the CEPA upgrade negotiations and on industrial development, green energy and digital trade. The brief records that in March 2026 Mr. Yeo visited India to set a mandate for the Chief Negotiators on both sides to reach a mutually beneficial conclusion of the upgrade negotiations, and the two ministers met again in Cameroon on 27 March 2026, on the sidelines of WTO MC14.

On 21 April 2026, Shri Goyal also met Mr. Kim Jung-kwan, ROK Minister for Trade, Industry and Resources, to discuss a more balanced trade relationship and greater investment by Korean companies in India. Earlier, an Electronics Origin Data Exchange System (EODES) was launched in New Delhi in 2023 by the CBIC Chair and the Korea Customs Commissioner, to expedite the exchange of certificate of origin information.

Economic outcomes of the April 2026 summit

During the summit, the two countries agreed to establish their first ministerial-level economic cooperation platform, the "Industrial Cooperation Committee". They also agreed to expand annual trade from the current USD 25 billion to USD 50 billion by 2030, and to broaden cooperation to strategic industries such as critical minerals, nuclear power, clean energy, artificial intelligence, shipbuilding and finance.

A Business Forum led by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and FICCI was held in New Delhi during the summit. According to the brief, around 600 Korean and Indian companies took part, including Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor Group, LG, POSCO Holdings and HD Hyundai, and 20 private MoUs were signed in areas such as shipbuilding, digital and energy.

A maiden Financial Forum was organised on 20 April 2026 by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Council on International Financial Cooperation (CIFC), along with India's Ministry of Finance. It covered banking, capital markets and fin-tech, and included the signing of 2 MoUs: one for digital payment integration and one for cooperation between Korea's FSC and India's International Financial Centres Authority (IFSCA).

On the same day, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman met Mr. Lee Eog-weom, Chairman of the FSC, to discuss Fintech innovation, digital payments, investment, local currency settlement and opportunities for businesses in GIFT City. In May 2023 she led the Indian delegation to the 56th Annual General Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank in the ROK.

Korean investment in India

The brief describes the ROK as the 16th largest FDI investor in India. As per K-Exim data, investment by the ROK into India amounted to USD 685 million in 2025, and cumulative investment since 1980 stands at around USD 10 billion, mostly in manufacturing. India and the ROK launched the 'Korea Plus' initiative to promote and facilitate Korean investment into India.

As of the brief, more than 670 large and small Korean firms operate in India. Six major Korean banks, KEB Hana, Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Nonghyup and IBK, have 20 branches in India between them. Other recent openings recorded in the brief are:

  • Hana bank opened 2 new branches, in Mumbai and Devanahalli (near Bengaluru), in December 2025.
  • KB Securities opened an office in Mumbai on 1 December 2025.
  • Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), the sovereign national fund of the ROK, opened its first branch in India, in Mumbai, in April 2024.
  • Korean Re, a reinsurance company, opened its India branch in GIFT City in January 2026.

Mirae Asset is described as the only foreign company among the top 10 asset management companies in India, and has been present in GIFT City since 2023.

Indian investment in the ROK

According to the brief, Indian investment in the ROK is led by Tata Daewoo and Aditya Birla Group (Novelis). Tata Motors acquired Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company for USD 102 million in March 2004, and the State Bank of India opened a branch in Seoul in January 2016 to offer services including loans and project financing for Korean and Indian companies.

Business mechanisms and promotion

The Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ICCK), made up of Indian and Korean companies, promotes trade and investment linkages. The India-Korea Fast Track Mechanism (FTM), launched in August 2024 to resolve issues raised by Korean investors in India, had held two meetings as of the brief.

Following the State visit, the PMO held a Korea Week on 22-25 June 2026, described in the brief as a platform to strengthen industry-government engagement for Korean companies in or interested in India. On 29 June 2026, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a round-table with Indian companies to encourage further Indian investment into Korea.

Promotion visits from Indian states are frequent. Ministerial-level delegations from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Rajasthan visited the ROK in 2023 and 2024, and the Chief Ministers of Assam, Chhattisgarh and Punjab visited Seoul in January, August and December 2025 respectively. On 20 February 2026, a delegation led by a Director of MoPSW, together with the CEO of NICDC, presented opportunities in shipbuilding, ports and industrial townships at the Korea India Economic Cooperation Conference organised by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).

Startups

India and the ROK signed an MoU on Startup Cooperation in February 2019, between India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the ROK Ministry of SMEs and Startups. On that basis the India-Korea SME and Startups center was established in Gurugram. The brief describes the India-Korea Startup Centre as operational and serving as a resource for Indian and Korean startups looking for information.

A 26 member delegation including 11 startups, led by the Korea Institute of Startup & Entrepreneurship Development (KISED) and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, took part in "Startup Mahakumbh" in New Delhi on 4-6 April 2025. In December 2025, at the COMEUP Startup festival in Seoul, the Indian startup "Konnect" was selected as the overall winner among more than 2,500 teams from 97 countries.