By Jihoon Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s new finance minister and the country’s top trade envoy will meet with U.S. counterparts on Friday for talks on U.S. tariffs, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said on Tuesday.
The country’s foreign and industry ministers will also visit the U.S. for trade discussions as early as this week, Koo told reporters after a meeting of economic ministers.
Koo took office on Monday.
The four officials complete a new team under President Lee Jae Myung who was sworn in on June 4 after winning a snap election called after his predecessor’s ouster for trying to declare martial law.
The political turmoil that ensued delayed South Korea’s response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s punishing tariff regime imposed on dozens of trade partners, including key industrial powerhouses that are also security allies.
Koo and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-kooo will hold talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Friday at the request of the U.S. officials, the finance minister said.
“We’ve had discussions from the perspective of national interest and pragmatism and we’ll do our best to prepare a meticulous strategy until we’re leaving,” Koo said, declining to answer whether Seoul was hoping to push back the August 1 deadline before reciprocal tariffs set by Trump are due to come in.
On Monday, South Korea’s new Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said tariff talks with the United States were in a critical phase that could result in a range of possible outcomes and pledged an all-out effort to wrap up negotiations by August 1.
Trump has vowed to slap tariffs on a range of countries including South Korea to reduce what he called unfair trade imbalances.
On Saturday, Japan’s top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said he planned to visit Washington this week to hold further ministerial-level talks, as Tokyo hopes to clinch a deal by its August 1 deadline.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee, Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Ed Davies)
