Saudi Arabia and South Korea are deepening their 62-year collaboration, which has expanded beyond building and petrochemicals to include smart cities, sustainable energy, and future mobility. This shift comes after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s recent visit to Riyadh, which resulted in 51 business agreements totalling $15.6 billion, including a $400 million Hyundai investment in a new assembly facility.
Korean companies like as Korea Electric Power Corp, POSCO Holdings, and Lotte Chemical have collaborated with Aramco on blue ammonia production, and Naver demonstrated its AI and digital solutions at LEAP 2024 in Riyadh.
Highlighting this partnership, KOSAA was established in Seoul to increase Korean investment in Saudi initiatives such as NEOM—a huge smart city effort. NEOM contains The Line, a 170-kilometer linear city where Samsung C&T and Hyundai E&C are developing advanced tunnelling technologies.
Korea is also looking into smart city development in Saudi cities using digital twins, and joint initiatives for eco-friendly infrastructure that align with Saudi Vision 2030. With over 330 Korean enterprises operating in Saudi Arabia, Korea’s commitment to this strategic cooperation intends to support major advances in infrastructure and digital transformation.
