'Make Korea buy more from India': Mohandas Pai urges Centre as both sides set $50 billion trade target

Aarin Capital chairman Mohandas Pai on Monday urged the government to push South Korea to buy more from India, saying Korean firms had long run a large surplus and remained highly protective of their own market.

Must Read: India, South Korea launch ‘Digital Bridge’ to deepen AI, semiconductor push

"Minister @Piyush Goyal please make Korea buy more from India. They have a huge surplus for last 30 years. Korean cos are very nationalist and parochial and buy more from their own cos. They want our market but will not open theirs," Pai said in a post on X.

India and South Korea set a target of doubling bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030 from the current level of around $27 billion.

India's bilateral trade with South Korea in FY25 was $26.89 billion. India's exports to Korea were $5.82 billion, while imports were $21.07 billion in the same year.

The announcement came during high-level talks in New Delhi between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

Welcoming Lee on his first visit to India, Modi called the engagement "extremely important" and said the two countries shared democratic values and a common outlook in the Indo-Pacific.

"Democratic values, market economy, and respect for the rule of law are in the DNA of both our countries. We also have a common outlook in the Indo-Pacific region," Modi said.

He said the two sides would look for wider cooperation across sectors. "From chips to ships, talent to technology, entertainment to energy, we will realise new opportunities for cooperation in every sector," the PM said.

The Prime Minister said the countries had launched the India-Korea Financial Forum to improve financial flows, set up an Industrial Cooperation Committee to strengthen business ties, and initiated an Economic Security Dialogue on critical technologies and supply chains.

Modi also said India would establish a Korean Industrial Township to help Korean companies, especially SMEs, enter the Indian market more easily.

He said the two sides would upgrade the India-Korea Trade Agreement within a year and deepen cooperation in AI, semiconductors, and information technology through the India-Korea Digital Bridge.

The two countries also signed memorandums of understanding in shipbuilding, sustainability, steel, and ports.