President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was welcomed with an official ceremony in Seoul on Tuesday during a visit at the invitation of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, as the two countries seek to strengthen their strategic partnership and expand bilateral cooperation.

Erdoğan and Lee joined the ministers of their countries as they signed memoranda of understanding in several fields, including nuclear energy. Under one of the deals, Ankara and Seoul will cooperate on financing Türkiye’s second power plant planned in the Black Sea province of Sinop.

The president’s meeting with Lee and the signing of the deal were preceded by an elaborate welcoming ceremony for the Turkish leader, who was on his first official visit to the country in eight years.

South Korea’s National Taekwondo Demonstration Team showed off their skills in a lengthy performance on the lawn of the Blue House, amid impressed looks from Erdoğan.

Speaking at a joint news conference following one-on-one and delegation-level meetings at the Presidential Palace, Erdoğan thanked Lee for his hospitality and recalled the sacrifices made by Turkish soldiers during the Korean War 76 years ago, describing the historical bond as the foundation of a relationship that has developed into a strategic partnership.

Lee echoed those remarks, describing Türkiye as a “blood brother” of South Korea and paying tribute to approximately 20,000 Turkish troops who fought alongside South Korean forces during the war.

Both leaders emphasized their commitment to translating the historical relationship into concrete cooperation across strategic sectors.

Defense cooperation to expand

Defense cooperation emerged as a central issue during the talks, with both leaders highlighting existing joint projects and opportunities for further collaboration.

“Defense industry is one of the leading areas where our strategic partnership has produced concrete results,” Erdoğan said, pointing to joint projects involving Fırtına howitzers and Altay main battle tanks.

He stressed that the two countries should increase the number of such projects.

Lee said Ankara and Seoul had agreed to deepen defense industry cooperation through joint production, technology partnerships and efforts to help companies from both countries enter third-country markets.

He also highlighted progress in bilateral defense cooperation, including a joint defense industry and logistics committee meeting in July and a letter of intent on military ship cooperation signed in September.

Nuclear energy and mining were among the other major priorities discussed during the summit.

Erdoğan highlighted a memorandum of understanding signed in November 2025 between Türkiye’s nuclear energy company and Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), describing it as an important foundation for future cooperation.

Lee announced that the two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding on nuclear power project financing, building on ongoing cooperation concerning Türkiye’s nuclear power plant plans.

The leaders also agreed to strengthen cooperation in advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, semiconductor manufacturing, battery production and advanced communications.

Under a newly signed science, technology and innovation agreement, the countries plan to convene their bilateral Joint Science and Technology Committee for the first time.

Additional agreements covering energy cooperation, natural resources and mining are expected to support investment, technological development and the diversification of critical mineral supply chains.

Lee also announced plans to establish a South Korea-Türkiye Energy Transition Forum to promote cooperation in clean energy, hydrogen and renewable energy.

$15B bilateral trade target

Economic relations featured prominently in the discussions, with Erdoğan reaffirming Türkiye’s goal of raising bilateral trade to $15 billion.

Recalling that trade volume between Türkiye and South Korea exceeded $10 billion for the first time in 2023, Lee said bilateral trade reached a record high last year.

“Last year, trade volume between Türkiye and South Korea reached $10.7 billion, setting a record since the establishment of diplomatic relations,” he said.

The leaders discussed updating their existing free trade agreement to reflect current economic conditions and addressing trade imbalances, customs delays and other barriers affecting businesses.

Erdoğan noted that more than 400 South Korean companies currently operate in Türkiye, adding that Ankara and Seoul are exploring joint projects in third-country markets.

Lee also highlighted cooperation in biotechnology, including plans involving South Korean company SK Plasma to establish a plasma-derived pharmaceutical production facility in Türkiye.

Regional security

Beyond bilateral cooperation, Erdoğan and Lee discussed international developments, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the situation in the Middle East and security on the Korean Peninsula.

Erdoğan reaffirmed Türkiye’s support for a dialogue-based approach aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

Lee welcomed Ankara’s continued support for Seoul’s policy toward North Korea and said the two countries would strengthen coordination on regional and international security challenges.

Both leaders pledged closer cooperation through multilateral platforms, including the United Nations, G20 and MIKTA, a grouping comprising Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Türkiye and Australia.

Erdoğan also announced plans for special events next year to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Türkiye and South Korea.

Lee described Tuesday’s summit as an important milestone in bilateral relations, pledging to work closely with Erdoğan to implement the agreements and deliver concrete results.

The expanded meeting, held behind closed doors, was also attended by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran and Presidency of Defense Industries head Haluk Görgün.

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A week of hearings on the “Imamoğlu criminal organization,” as prosecutors called it, will come to a close in a few days, but former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu was already cornered, with statements from more eyewitnesses, plaintiffs and co-defendants speaking up at his trial for corruption.

Statements during the hearings at the massive courthouse-prison complex in Silivri on the outskirts of the city were damning, to say the least, and exposed an apparent cycle of bribery and fraud for doing business with the municipality.

Imamoğlu, presidential candidate first for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and then for its spin-off New Party (YP), was arrested last year and has been held in custody since then, along with 46 other defendants in the sprawling corruption case. A total of 436 defendants are being tried and most of them were released with judiciary control. Among them are municipal bureaucrats accused of being associates of Imamoğlu in his criminal ring thriving on bribes and tender-rigging. Prosecutors are seeking thousands of years in prison for Imamoğlu and fellow defendants. Gürgen, a code-named secret witness, was among those heard in this week’s hearings and detailed the alleged wrongdoings of the said ring. He testified against Ali Sukas, head of a municipal subsidiary in charge of landscaping. Gürgen claimed that Sukas’ wife was nominated for a legislative seat and he instructed his subordinate Ümit Polat to extort money from companies doing business with the subsidiary. “They were threatened that the subsidiary won’t release the funds they are owed to if they don’t pay for (campaign for Sukas’ wife),” the witness said.

Uğur Kemal Gökbulut, who worked as general coordinator for a construction company, detailed how the municipality asked for extra cash for construction permits for a major project of his company. He said the deputy mayor of Şişli, where the project would be constructed, asked him to hand out cheques to several people he designated “for charity.”

“They wouldn’t give us permits if we hadn’t delivered the cheques,” he told the court. Sefer Kocabaş, an architect who was an eyewitness in the hearing, told the court that municipal officials forced owners of a major shopping mall to pay bribes for a permit for a parking garage inside the mall and when they refused, the municipality issued fines to the mall for irrelevant causes.

Ilker Aydın, an investment manager at a pharmaceuticals company, told the court the company’s owner had invested in a construction project in Istanbul’s Şişli district, but the project was incomplete as the municipality had not issued permits for remaining apartment and commercial blocks when the company refused to pay the $5 million requested by the municipality. Aydın said the company later agreed to pay $3.5 million as a bribe for approval of the project.

Another witness, Metin Karakoç, said he worked for a company mentioned in the indictment and that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) employee and mapping engineer Yakup Öner had requested a “donation” during a meeting with his boss, Mehmet Torun, who is both a defendant and a complainant in the case. Torun agreed to the request, he said. Claiming that the donation in question was subsequently converted into a conditional donation, Karakoç said they made the payment after their requests were approved by the municipal council.

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A maritime jurisdiction deal Libya approved years after its signing with Türkiye was on the agenda of Devlet Bahçeli as he addressed fellow lawmakers of his Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), part of the ruling People’s Alliance, on Tuesday.

The deal, which confirms maritime delimitation between the two countries, has irritated the European Union, which counts Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, two opponents of the deal, among its members.

Bahçeli told the parliamentary group meeting of his party in Ankara that they “noted that those disturbed by the friendly relations between Türkiye and Libya have voiced their outrage over this development.”

“It has immediately become clear that Greece, the Greek Cypriot administration, Israel, which is provoking them against Türkiye, and the European Union, which does not hesitate to criticize Türkiye based on Greek and Greek Cypriot positions under the guise of ‘union solidarity,’ are all troubled by this development. The joint press statement issued by the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council has exposed the EU’s contradictory approach and desperation,” Bahçeli said, referring to a statement that defined the agreement as “null and void” and an “infringement on the sovereign rights of third countries.”

“All officials in Brussels must understand that lecturing Türkiye, dictating its course and instructing it on what it can or cannot do is beyond the bounds of what Europe, like anyone else, can presume to do to a country such as Türkiye, which has the power and will to make and implement decisions fully independently and solely in line with its own interests. Neither Türkiye nor Libya is obliged to act in accordance with their expectations and demands. Furthermore, respecting the sovereign rights of countries bordering the Mediterranean would be the most legally and politically appropriate course of action for everyone,” he said.

Libya’s House of Representatives unanimously approved the maritime boundary agreement last month, marking a significant development in the long-running dispute over maritime jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Originally signed in November 2019 between Türkiye and Libya’s former U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), the memorandum establishes maritime boundaries between the two Mediterranean countries.

Ankara maintains that the agreement safeguards both countries’ sovereign rights and counters what it considers excessive maritime claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration.

Athens, however, rejects the agreement, arguing that it disregards the maritime rights of Greek islands and violates international maritime law.

“The reactions from the European Union, Greece and other actors carry little significance from a legal standpoint, as international law recognizes agreements concluded between sovereign states,” Ufuk Necat Taşçı, assistant professor of International Relations at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, told Daily Sabah on Oct. 21, stressing that the agreement had already been registered with the U.N., and it now enjoys broad support across Libya’s political and military leadership, including the parliament, the western-based government and military forces in both eastern and western Libya.

Riots in Europe

Bahçeli was also sardonic about riots and protests that gripped Europe in the past few weeks, from France to Germany, as students and others dissatisfied with the state policies took to the streets. “The European Union should remind its member states about its sensitivity to basic rights and freedoms, as well,” Bahçeli said, in a pushback to criticism of Türkiye by the bloc in the past on rights and freedoms.

“The social movements that began in France and spread to other countries evolved in a short time into violent riots disrupting public order and peace. Europeans should examine the underlying causes of violent riots. Europe sought political gains for a long time through Islamophobia, Turkophobia and anti-migrant sentiments. Now, the seeds of strife they sowed have hit them,” he stated.

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a statement Tuesday on the anniversary of the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) first election victory in 2002.

“We opened the doors to a big, strong Türkiye in the Nov. 3, 2002, elections, when we received the blessings of our nation for the first time. We accomplished an Anatolian revolution 24 years ago,” Erdoğan said in a social media post Tuesday, during his visit to South Korea to seal new bilateral deals.

“We have been the servant of our revered nation for a quarter of a century with our projects and investments. We worked tirelessly under the motto ‘everything is for Türkiye.’ We know that we are walking a long, narrow path where, Allah willing, we will serve the country more and take Türkiye to a more advanced level in every field,” he said, using a line from a song by Turkish folk singer Aşık Veysel.

“Allah willing, we will continue serving this nation we fell in love with, this country we love,” he added.

The AK Party hosted a panel at its headquarters on Tuesday for the anniversary, and the party’s deputy chair Efkan Ala explained how the party ensured that the people’s will governed the country. He said in his speech at the panel that the AK Party had established itself as a brand in governance, describing management as the most important resource for any country.

Referring to Türkiye’s goal of becoming one of the world’s 10 most developed countries, Ala emphasized that a common characteristic of the 10 most developed nations was “well-functioning governance.” Recalling President Erdoğan’s remark that “the people founded the AK Party, we simply put up its sign,” Ala explained the circumstances behind the statement.

He said the Feb. 28, 1997, coup had taken place during a time when trust between society and the state had collapsed, the country was experiencing an economic crisis, and politics had failed to recover. It was against this backdrop, he said, that the AK Party was founded. Noting that the average government tenure was one year and seven months before AK Party governments took office, Ala said: “The AK Party has changed such a system. Look, we are now in our 24th year and have entered our 25th.”

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“Do they sell scarves in August?” Özgür Özel rhetorically asked during a speech on Tuesday.

The leader of the main opposition New Party (YP) was accused by the son of a former lawmaker of taking bribes. Emir Sarıgül, whose father Mustafa recently parted ways with the YP after the exposure of a corruption and sex scandal, told investigators that the lawmaker paid bribes to Özel when the latter was chair of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), including one instance when he hid the cash among scarves his son purchased in August.

“Özel has nothing to do with money,” the YP leader, who often refers to himself in third person, told the parliamentary group meeting of his party in Ankara on Tuesday.

He said those who witnessed such an act of bribery should come forward with tangible evidence other than the statement of Emir Sarıgül.

Emir Sarıgül has claimed that his father bribed Özel to secure his position. He said Mustafa Sarıgül had handed Özel a total of $350,000 in cash concealed among gift packages.

The younger Sarıgül was one of 24 suspects detained last month as part of an investigation into the Sarıgül family over allegations of money laundering and unexplained wealth. He recently gave an additional statement to prosecutors, detailing the hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly handed directly to Özel.

“I know that during the establishment of the New Party, $250,000 was left inside a vehicle belonging to Özgür Özel to cover the interior furnishing of the party’s headquarters. The money was handed over outside a restaurant in Ümitköy, Ankara. My father and Özgür Özel had dinner that day with a group of six or seven members of Parliament. As they left the restaurant, my father personally placed the $250,000 in the back of Özgür Özel’s vehicle. He told me this himself.

“He also told me that Özel had been given another $100,000 in cash last month. At the time, my father told me that Özgür Özel would be coming to his house in Ankara for dinner. He asked me to buy two scarves from a store. I purchased them and handed them to my father. He then placed $100,000 inside the scarf package at his house in Istanbul. The scarves were placed alongside the money. We then prepared the package as a gift. He took the package and drove to Istanbul Airport in his own vehicle. He flew to Ankara, first stopping by Parliament before going to his house in Ümitköy. Özel came over for dinner that evening, and the money was handed to him in person. My father told me about it the following day,” he said.

Özel’s name has been repeatedly linked to bribery allegations dating back to his tenure as head of the CHP. Figures close to Özel already face charges of bribing delegates to secure their votes for him in the party’s 2023 internal election, which brought him to power. Muhittin Böcek, the former mayor of Antalya who was arrested on corruption charges, has also claimed that he repeatedly delivered cash to Özel in secret to secure his nomination as the CHP’s candidate in the 2024 municipal elections.

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An examination of the body of Kaşif Kozinoğlu, a former intelligence officer who died in prison, reportedly of a heart attack, revealed toxic materials enough to kill a healthy person, according to a report published by the Sabah newspaper on Tuesday.

Kozinoğlu died on Nov. 12, 2011, after falling ill while being held at Silivri Prison in Istanbul. He was jailed as part of the Ergenekon investigations that Turkish authorities now describe as a plot orchestrated by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and died shortly before he was due to present his defense in court.

A new probe was launched into his death, long described as suspicious by Kozinoğlu’s friends, after Justice Minister Akın Gürlek took office earlier this year and announced he would pursue new investigations into unsolved crimes and suspicious deaths of the yesteryear in high-profile cases.

The new autopsy report of Kozinoğlu, whose last tenure was as the chief adviser in charge of Asian affairs at the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), indicates findings of antimony in his hair and fingernails. High doses of antimony can cause cardiac arrest.

The report on the body, which was exhumed on Sept. 12, noted that it was in an advanced state of decomposition.

The most striking finding in the report was that although antimony was not detected in any of the seven different grave soil samples examined, it was found at various levels in the body. The presence of such high concentrations of antimony in biological tissues despite its complete absence from the soil strengthened the possibility that the substance had entered the body from an external source, heightening suspicions of foul play, according to the Sabah report.

Antimony causes cellular damage similar to that caused by arsenic and can have fatal consequences by triggering severe gastrointestinal disorders, liver and kidney failure, and cardiovascular shock.

Allegations that Kozinoğlu drank coffee in prison shortly before his death, along with suspicions raised in the investigation file, have been brought under renewed scrutiny in light of the antimony and arsenic findings in the report. In forensic toxicology literature, coffee is recognized as a highly effective vehicle for concealing differences in the taste and smell of chemical substances due to its bitter flavor, strong aroma and dense consistency, the Sabah report says.

A total of 30 people have faced legal proceedings so far in the broader investigation into Kozinoğlu’s suspicious death. Nine suspects, including Ali Işgören, the Silivri chief public prosecutor at the time, former MIT operative Enver Altaylı, a prison guard and emergency medical technicians, have been arrested. An arrest warrant has also been issued for one prison official.

Sabah newspaper has also released images from the security camera footage of the prison ward at the time of Kozinoğlu’s death. The footage allegedly shows Kozinoğlu’s cellmate Hasan Atilla Uğur switched off the ambient lighting for about 14 minutes while Kozinoğlu was taking a walk in the prison.

The footage also showed Kozinoğlu’s cellmates, Uğur and Hasan Ataman Yıldırım, washing the glass from which Kozinoğlu had drunk coffee on the kitchen counter shortly after he fell ill and was taken to hospital. Uğur and Yıldırım were released under house arrest in recent months following statements they gave to investigators.

Kozinoğlu has said in a statement shortly before his death that he feared he could be killed. Prosecutors had accused him of being a member of a terrorist group and leaking confidential documents, and he was questioned by Zekeriya Öz, a prosecutor who is now on the run after an arrest warrant was issued for him on charges of FETÖ membership.

The Ergenekon case began in 2007 after weapons were discovered in Istanbul’s Ümraniye district and eventually led to the prosecution of hundreds of military officers, journalists, academics and other public figures accused of belonging to an alleged clandestine network plotting to overthrow the government.

Following the failed coup attempt in 2016, Turkish authorities reassessed many of the investigations and trials carried out by members of FETÖ’s network within the judiciary. Officials have since argued that the Ergenekon proceedings were part of a broader effort by the terrorist group to remove senior military personnel and expand its influence within state institutions.

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