SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump will hold their first summit meeting on August 25 in Washington to discuss strengthening the two nations’ alliance and economic security partnership, Lee’s office said on Tuesday.
Lee, who was elected president in a snap election in June, has made it a top priority to help his export-dependent country navigate the dramatic changes in the global trading environment triggered by Trump’s tariff policies.
Developing their security alliance to “a future-oriented comprehensive security alliance” and economic security partnership will feature highly in the meeting, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told a briefing.
Based on the tariff deal reached last month, the two leaders will seek to push forward a partnership in the manufacturing sector, including in semiconductors, batteries and shipbuilding, Kang said.
Trump announced on July 30 the countries had reached a trade deal that would subject South Korean goods to 15% import duties, lowering the tariff he had initially set against one of America’s top trading partners.
Trump has said South Korea will announce investment plans at the upcoming summit and that Seoul had committed to making $350 billion of investments to be “selected” by him.
(Reporting by Jack Kim, Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Tom Hogue, Ed Davies)
