TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — South Korea’s envoy in Taiwan, Lee Eun-ho, told Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) Wednesday (March 6) that visits by important individuals from his country to Taiwan would become more frequent.

Lee emphasized the close links between the two countries in the fields of trade and tourism, per CNA. Han said he hoped they could deepen economic, trade, and sports exchanges.

Lee and Han held closed-door talks for 30 minutes at the Legislative Yuan. The legislative speaker reportedly pointed out that his name contained the Mandarin name for Korea (hankuo, 韓國) and that he had known many Koreans during his student years.

The two men also underlined the growth of tourist visits between the two countries. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 million people traveled between Taiwan and South Korea each year, with the figure reaching 640,000 last year, according to Han. Lee said there were 2,000 flights between the two nations in January, more than between South Korea and Thailand.

Just before the end of 2023, an agreement to avoid double taxation and to prevent tax evasion took effect. The new measure would encourage business exchanges and trade between the two sides, Lee said.