Lee made the remark during a meeting with Turkish and South Korean business CEOs after arriving in the ancient city of Istanbul for a four-day visit focused on bolstering economic cooperation and upgrading the traditional friendship between the two countries.
During the 1950-53 Korean War, Turkey sent the fourth-largest number of troops after the United States, Britain and Canada to help South Korea repel communist troops from North Korea. The two countries call each other "brother countries" due to the strong bond forged in blood.
"The peoples of the two countries consider each other a brother nation, but economic relations of the two countries are not balanced with those of brother countries," Lee said. "I think an FTA would serve as a new opportunity to develop efforts to facilitate" economic relations.
