Korean, Italian business leaders reaffirm commitment during President Lee's Italy state visit

ROME — Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation during the Korea-Italy business roundtable in Rome on Friday, which took place on the sidelines of President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to Italy.

Chairman Lee described Italy as a special country for Samsung.

“Events such as Milan's furniture fair have been a tremendous source of inspiration for Samsung, and even our chief design officer is Italian,” he said, referring to Mauro Porcini, the president and chief design officer at Samsung Electronics' Device eXperience Division.

“The combination of Italy's scientific excellence and Korea's technological innovation could lead to expanded cooperation across a wide range of advanced industries,” he added.

Similarly, LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun, who also participated in the roundtable, said that the company has been supplying key transformer materials to Europe since acquiring an Italian company and recently established a research and development center in Milan to deepen technological partnerships with Italy.

Hyosung Group Chairman Cho Hyun-joon also noted that Italy shares many similarities with Korea and highlighted various partnerships with Italian companies in sectors including fashion and finance.

On the Italian side, Biagio Mazzotta, the chairman of the board of directors at Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, expressed hopes for broader cooperation with Korean firms regarding cruise ships, naval vessels, submarine support systems, next-generation warships and environmentally friendly vessels.

Following the roundtable, President Lee met separately with the Korean business leaders. Thanking them for their participation, he said that the event had helped him better understand the importance of economic cooperation between Korea and Italy, according to Kim Yong-beom, the chief presidential secretary for policy, who briefed reporters on the events later in the day. 

The president also shared updates on a direct hotline between Korea and India, which was first agreed upon in April during his summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He added that Modi is scheduled to meet Korean business leaders in June and encouraged executives to bring policy proposals directly to the presidential policy office when individual ministries are unable to address them.

A lighter moment came during the post-event meeting, when the hotel presented a cake reading, “Korea 2, Czech Republic 1. Congratulations,” commemorating the Korean national football team's first victory at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Earlier in the day, Korea Enterprises Federation Chairman Ryu Jin had thanked the Italian participants for their support, joking that their encouragement had helped Korea secure the win in its opening World Cup match.

BY OH HYUN-SEOK [[email protected]]