Presidenta Chinchilla Becomes Honorary Seoul Citizen

Costa Rican Presidenta Laura Chinchilla is the 12th foreign leader to become an honorary citizen of Seoul. Chinchilla arrived in Korea on Sunday to meet with President Lee Myung-bak and leaves on today (Wednesday).



A total of 666 foreigners from 92 countries have received honorary Seoul citizenships since 1958, including Islam Karimov, president of Uzbekistan, former Korean World Cup soccer coach Guus Hiddink, and U.S. football player Hines Ward, whose mother is Korean.

The Presidenta was in Korea to explore the possibility of a free trade agreement to build on their growing economic ties.

The agreement came during talks between Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla and her South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung-bak, Lee’s office said in a statement.