Seoul: South Korea inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Wednesday with Poland on expanding financial cooperation and asked the Eastern European country to help South Korean banks venture into the country. The MOU was signed in Seoul between Financial Services Commission (FSC) chief Kim Byoung-hwan and Jacek Jastrzebski, the head of Poland's financial watchdog, KNF. According to Yonhap News Agency, the two countries agreed to expand their financial cooperation beyond the banking sector to the realms of insurance and others. Kim called for support in funding South Korean firms operating in Poland and asked his Polish counterpart to help South Korean banks make inroads into the country. A total of 370 South Korean firms had been operating in Poland as of end-2023, with their accumulated investments totaling US$6 billion. Poland is South Korea's largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe, with bilateral trade growing for six consecutive years, reaching an all-time high of $10.1 billion last year. In 2022, Poland signed procurement deals worth 17 trillion won ($12.4 billion) to buy K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, FA-50 light attack aircraft, and Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers to bolster its defenses in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. South Korea recently signed a deal to purchase so-called suicide drones from Poland to counter North Korea's rising threats.