Mexico and South Korea at the subnational level

Within the bilateral relations that Mexico maintains with different countries of the world, the relationship with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, also known as South Korea, stands out for different aspects, including commercial and cultural. So much so that, in recent months to the publication of this writing, the talks of a Free Trade Agreement between these two countries have had more force and interference in the public agenda.

Due to the closeness between these two nations, this article aims to reflect on Mexico-Korea relations at a subnational level, in order to consider the role of Mexican local governments and the benefits they can obtain from the strengthening of bilateral relations.

In order to provide a brief context on the link between South Korea and Mexico, the fact that, in 1962, both nations formally established their diplomatic relations, is highlighted. In that same year, South Korea opened its Embassy in the then Federal District. For its part, Mexico maintained relations with the peninsular country through the concurrent Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, and it was not until 1978 that Mexico opened its Embassy in Seoul.

Since the establishment of these relations, both countries have come to sign multiple bilateral agreements in different areas, among which are:

• Educational and Cultural Cooperation Agreement (1966)
• Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Agreement (1989)
• Agreement on Tourism and Telecommunications (1999)
• Agreement to avoid double taxation (2000)
• Agreement on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments (2000)
• Agreement on Technology and Innovation (2016)
• Clean Energy Cooperation Agreement (2016)
• Agreement on the fight against international organized crime (2016)
• Agreement on Higher Education, Health and Social Security (2016)
• Agreement on Intellectual Property (2016)

The foregoing reflects that both nations have worked hard in the areas of trade, technology, tourism, education, science, security and culture, for some years now, with trade and technology being the most prominent in this bilateral relationship.

In relation to local governments in Mexico, both federal entities and municipalities, it is worth mentioning that technology companies from Korea, such as KIA Motors, Samsung, Hyundai, LG Electronics and POSCO, have established operations in different states of Mexico. strengthening bilateral ties at the national level, as well as at the local level.

In turn, the case of the relationship between Yucatan and South Korea stands out, thanks to the solidarity shown by the Mexican state to welcome Korean migrants in 1905. Among the proofs of the great esteem that exists between Yucatan and the peninsular country, stand out the inauguration in 2017 of the Republic of Korea avenue, and in 2019 the official promulgation of Korea Day; both made in the city of Mérida.

Likewise, Mexico City is another ally not only of the Korean federal government, but also of the local government, Seoul, since both cities cooperate through various consultative groups such as the World Organization of Electronic Cities and Local Governments (World e- Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments) and the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF).

In order to deepen and reflect the cooperation at the subnational level between Mexico and South Korea, the following table is presented, which describes and identifies the main Local Diplomacy activities that have taken place between both countries. The information presented is based on the data provided on the page of the embassy of the Republic of Korea in Mexico, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the section on Local Registered Institutional Agreements, as well as the Local Diplomacy bulletins of the Mexican Relations International Center:

Mexico and South Korea at subnational level