South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh, Lee Jang-keun, has said Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) in Chattogram is showing continuous progress in developing the area through a series of efforts. KEPZ is developing the area by adding more factories, establishing ICT zones, opening design and development centers, inaugurating the country’s largest rooftop solar panel electricity generation, and inviting foreign companies, he said. The South Korean envoy, together with German Ambassador to Bangladesh Achim Troester, visited KEPZ on January 7 and looked around the factories and other facilities at the compound, including the newly opened unit of German company STRAUSS. Also Read: KEPZ Hi-Tech park will attract huge FDI, hopes Palak A renowned German outdoor and sportswear company, Strauss, officially opened its design and development center, Struass CI Factory Chattogram, at KEPZ on October 24 last year. Around 200 people are currently employed in Chattogram -- from product development to sales and marketing.  KEPZ has successfully installed and is operating the country’s largest single rooftop solar power plant with a capacity of 22MW, which not only suffices the electricity needs of the zone but is also incorporated with Bangladesh’s national electricity grid, said the South Korean Embassy in Dhaka on Sunday. Also Read: Workers clash with cops at KEPZ; 6 hurt Ambassador Lee, together with State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid, inaugurated KEPZ’s rooftop solar panel plant on June 20, 2021. Ambassador Lee also said that KEPZ’s ICT zone is well underway as planned. Construction of the ICT zone started from April last year through a groundbreaking ceremony with the presence of ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak and it is at the last stage of completing two factory buildings. According to the KEPZ, currently 43 operating factories are employing over 22,000 workers. Eight other factories are under construction. Read More: KEPZ textile zone can transform Bangladesh’s textile business: Youngone Chairman KEPZ is the sole private-owned EPZ in the country, operated by the Korean Youngone Corporation which is the first and the largest foreign investor in the RMG sector in Bangladesh.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has said Hyundai cars will be assembled in Bangladesh by the end of this year. At the Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park, he said, local company Fair Technology is now preparing an assembly plant for Hyundai Motors. In cooperation with a Bangladeshi company, Samsung Electronics is assembling and manufacturing most of its gadgets locally – from refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine to television and mobile phones, Ambassador Lee said while speaking at a reception on Sunday evening, marking South Korea’s National Foundation Day. Read:Make 50th anniversary of Seoul-Dhaka ties a success: Korean ambassador The South Korean envoy said the golden jubilee of Bangladesh-South Korea relations next year will be a milestone in “friendship and partnership” between the two countries. “Cherishing the close ties we have earnestly cultivated for the past five decades, we will renew our commitment to each other and take a bold step forward together for a closer, deeper, stronger and brighter future,” he said. South Korea is currently the fifth largest FDI investor in Bangladesh, and more than 70 percent of its investment is in the RMG sector, said the ambassador. Read: South Korean envoy Lee for strengthening infrastructure cooperation with Bangladesh With the establishment of the Hyundai Car manufacturing plant in Bangladesh, the friendship between Bangladesh and South Korea will reach a new height. 

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has highlighted the role of Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) Bangladesh alumni in strengthening and deepening the friendly ties between Bangladesh and Korea. He particularly mentioned their role in connecting the many talented and ambitious Bangladesh youth with the Korean academic community. Ambassador Lee also asked them to play an important role in celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2023. Also read: Ambassador Lee eyes 3 dynamic strategies to boost Dhaka-Seoul ties He wished that more Bangladeshi students could find chances to study in Korea in the coming years and expressed his commitment to making strenuous efforts to this end. On Saturday, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea hosted the first ever GKS alumni meet-up in Dhaka in cooperation with the GKS Bangladesh Alumni Association. Around 40 GKS Bangladesh alumni members, President of the Korea-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KBCCI) and Chairman of the Meghna Group of Industries Mostafa Kamal, President of the Korean Community Association in Bangladesh Yoo Yong-oh, Director of KOICA Dhaka Office Do Young-Ah and other dignitaries participated in today’s event. The Global Korea Scholarship is a South Korean government programme to provide foreign students with an opportunity to study in Korean universities with scholarship. Under this program, every year around 20 Bangladesh students are going to Korea for undergraduate or graduate studies. Since 2011, 172 Bangladeshi students have benefitted from the GKS program, among which 137 were in graduate programs while 35 were in undergraduate programmes, according to the South Korean Embassy in Dhaka. At present, around 1,500 Bangladeshi students are studying in Korean universities, most of them with various scholarships opportunities, including the GKS. The number of Bangladesh students in Korea continues to increase every year, and Korea is becoming an increasingly preferred destination for Bangladesh as well as for students from all around the world, said the Embassy.

Bangladesh and South Korea have discussed future cooperation between the two countries to improve capacity of Bangladesh weather forecasting and climate monitoring.

President of Association of Koreans in Bangladesh Ryu Yong-O and South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun on Thursday visited Shuchona Foundation and handed over a donation of Tk 10 lakh to its Vice Chairperson Prof Pran Gopal Datta.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun and Association of Koreans in Bangladesh President Ryu Yong-O on Monday held a virtual meeting with Shuchona Foundation Chairperson Saima Wazed Hossain and conveyed Association's donation plan of Tk 10 lakh.

The Embassy of South Korea and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in collaboration with KOICA Bangladesh Alumni Association (KBAA) and Korean community in Bangladesh have donated school bags, stationery, face-masks, confectionery and sanitizers to the students of Sarkari Shishu Paribar.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has announced a new contribution of US$ 300,000 to WFP Bangladesh to support its operations that provide food assistance to 860,000 people in Cox's Bazar Rohingya camps.

South Korean Ambassador to Dhaka Lee Jang-keun on Thursday expressed strong support for the government and the people of Bangladesh in their fight against Covid-19.

Newly-appointed South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has pledged to make every effort to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries during his tenure in Dhaka.