President Yoon Suk Yeol (right) and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in July shake hands at their luncheon meeting at a restaurant in Vilnius, Lithuania, on the sidelines of the annual NATO Summit. (Kim Yong Wii from Office of the President)
By Park Hye Ri
President Yoon Suk Yeol will make a state visit to the Netherlands from Dec. 11-14 at the invitation of Dutch King Willem Alexander, the first trip of its kind for a Korean leader since both sides formed diplomatic ties in 1961.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo on Dec. 7 released the president’s travel schedule at a news briefing held at the Office of the President in Seoul.
After arriving in Amsterdam on Dec. 11, the president will attend a dinner party with Korean expats in the Netherlands. The next day, he will begin his official schedule with a welcoming ceremony, followed by laying a wreath at a national war memorial and attending a friendly luncheon with the Dutch royal couple and later a state dinner.
On the afternoon of Dec. 12, President Yoon will visit the headquarters of ASML, the world’s lone maker of extreme ultra-violet lithography equipment used for semiconductor nanoscale processes. He will be accompanied by King Alexander, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.
“President Yoon will be the first foreign leader to see ASML’s ‘clean room,'” Deputy Adviser Kim said, referring to a space for producing semiconductors. “He will also inspect the main facilities at ASML headquarters and discuss expert human resource training and next-generation technological R&D cooperation with major chip companies like ASML.”
On Dec. 13, President Yoon will leave for The Hague to attend a joint meeting with the heads of the Dutch Senate and House of Representatives, bilateral summit with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, joint news conference and signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding.
President Yoon is also scheduled to visit the Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights), where the the Second Hague Peace Conference was held 116 years ago, and the Yi Jun Peace Museum. Ridderzaal holds historical significance in the Korean independence movement as the venue of the Second Hague Peace Conference of 1907, where Homer Hulbert of the U.S. sought to publicize Japanese aggression on the Korean Peninsula.
President Yoon will return to Amsterdam for a meeting with Dutch veterans of the Korean War and business forum, capped off by a traditional Korean cultural performance hosted by the Netherlands. He will fly home on Dec. 14.
Saying the state visit’s goal is to form a “semiconductor alliance” and “deepen the strategic partnership,” Deputy Adviser Kim added, “The future strategic partnership between Korea and the Netherlands will reinforce security cooperation based on a solidarity of values and economic security cooperation through cutting-edge technologies.”
“Korea and the Netherlands will closely cooperate in areas like North Korea’s nuclear program, aid for Ukraine and Middle Eastern issues to protect freedom and maintain a norms-based international order.”
hrhr@korea.kr
