South Korea appoints ex-trade chief Yeo Han-koo as new trade minister
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea appointed former chief trade envoy Yeo Han-koo as its top trade negotiator, the president's office said on Tuesday, as Asia's fourth largest economy prepares for negotiations with Washington to reduce the tariffs.
The U.S. imposed 25% levies on South Korea on April 2, one of the highest tariffs for a U.S. ally, though they have been suspended until early July. Cutting tariffs is a top policy priority for South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung after a leadership vacuum in recent months helped delay talks between Seoul and Washington.
The president also appointed statistics agency chief Lee Hyoung-il as first vice finance minister to lead the ministry until a finance minister is formally appointed, Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.
Sectoral tariffs have hurt South Korea's key industries including cars, aluminium and steel.
Yeo was trade chief between August 2021 and early 2022 during left-leaning President Moon Jae-in's administration and was involved in Korea-U.S. talks under the first Trump administration.
While serving as commercial attache at the Korean Embassy in Washington, he was involved in amendment negotiations of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and Section 232 steel negotiations in 2017.
For the past two years Yeo has been a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Foreign energy companies continuing normal operations in Iraq, official says
BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Foreign energy firms continue operating normally in Iraq, a senior Iraqi official told Reuters on Thursday, after U.S. President Trump said U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place". The Iraqi oil ministry did not receive any notification from operators regarding staff reductions, added the official, who oversees operations in southern oilfields. On Wednesday, sources told Reuters that the U.S. was preparing an evacuation of its Iraqi embassy due to heightened security risks in the region.
2 hours ago
Asian shares are mixed as markets shrug at latest China-US trade deal
TOKYO -- Asian shares were trading mixed early Thursday after Wall Street's rally stalled as investors appeared not to react much to the results of the latest round of China-U.S. trade talks. U.S. futures slipped and oil prices slipped. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% to 38,213.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 0.5% to 24,234.80, while the Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 3,404.66. In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.8% to 2,929.94, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher to 8,604.50. Taiwan's Taiex lost 0.8%. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,022.24 for its first loss in four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged at 42,865.77 after edging down by 1 point. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.5% to 3,400.30. All told, the S&P 500 fell 16.57 points to 6,022.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.10 to 42,865.77, and the Nasdaq composite sank 99.11 to 19,615.88. Several Big Tech stocks led the way lower, and a 1.9% drop for Apple was the heaviest weight on the market. It's been listless this week after unveiling several modest upcoming changes to the software that runs its devices. The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields eased after a report suggested President Donald Trump's tariffs are not pushing inflation much higher, at least not yet. U.S. consumers had to pay prices for food, gasoline and other costs of living that were 2.4% higher overall in May than a year earlier. That was up from April's 2.3% inflation rate, but it wasn't as bad as the 2.5% that Wall Street was expecting. A fear has been that Trump's wide-ranging tariffs could ignite an acceleration in inflation, just when it had seemed to get nearly all the way back to the Federal Reserve's 2% target from more than 9% three summers ago. It hasn't happened, though economists warn it may take months more to feel the full effect of Trump's tariffs. Trump said Wednesday that China will supply rare-earth minerals and magnets to the United States, while his government will allow Chinese students into U.S. universities in a deal that still needs an agreement by him and by China's leader. Trump also said that 'President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade. This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!' Investors are still hoping for a more sweeping trade deal that would ease tensions between the world's two largest economies. Hopes for such deals between the United States and countries around the world have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has charged nearly all the way back to its all-time high after dropping roughly 20% below a couple months ago. Without them, the fear is that Trump's high tariffs could drive the economy into a recession while pushing inflation higher. The S&P 500 is now sitting 2% below its record. Tesla swung between gains and losses before finishing with a rise of 0.1% to continue its shaky run. It's been recovering much of its big losses taken last week after Elon Musk's relationship with Trump imploded, which in turn raised fears about a loss of business for the electric-vehicle company. Musk on Wednesday backed away from some of his earlier comments and said they went 'too far.' In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.41% from 4.47% late Tuesday. Shorter-term yields, which more closely track expectations for what the Fed will do with overnight interest rates, fell more. Wednesday's better-than-expected reading on inflation raised expectations along Wall Street that the Fed could cut its main interest rate at least twice by the end of the year. In other dealings early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 33 cents to $67.82 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed 37 cents to $69.40 per barrel. The U.S. dollar slipped to 143.89 Japanese yen from 144.60 yen. The euro rose to $1.1520 from $1.1487.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Korean telco KT selects the Digital Vending Machine® from Bango to power next-gen subscription bundles
AI subscription product among new services set to diversify and transform customer experiences CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, June 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bango PLC (AIM:BGO, OTCQX:BGOPF), the leader in subscription bundling, today announces a strategic partnership with KT, a leading telecommunications provider in the Republic of Korea, to deliver subscription services to its 13.5 million customers. Leveraging the Digital Vending Machine® (DVM™) from Bango, KT customers will benefit from new and exciting subscription services. This is the first major DVM agreement for Bango in Korea, building momentum for further expansion into the East Asia telco market. KT will use the Bango DVM to seamlessly integrate a wide array of third-party services into its subscriptions hub and its customer bundled offers. This will include AI, language and translation subscriptions - responding to the rising consumer appetite for next-generation digital experiences. KT is leading the development of AI solutions across telecommunications and other industry sectors in the Republic of Korea. With AI subscriptions emerging as a standout category in the fast-evolving subscription economy, KT is now extending that vision to give customers access to groundbreaking AI services that enhance productivity, creativity, and learning, all through the Bango DVM. The Bango DVM simplifies the complexity behind subscription bundling, transforming a traditionally technical and operational challenge into a seamless, scalable business model. With a single integration, KT gains access to a growing global catalog of subscription services. New offers can be deployed quickly and flexibly, giving customers access to the latest services while providing KT with deep insights to personalize and optimize bundles over time. 'This collaboration will be a turning point for KT's subscription platform to expand as a global subscription service hub,' said Younggeol Kim, Head of KT's Service Product Division. 'We want to meet the evolving needs of our users, whether that's the latest entertainment or cutting-edge AI subscriptions, and the Digital Vending Machine from Bango gives us the agility to do exactly that.' 'KT is a leader in its field and now, also in the subscription space, taking bold steps to offer customers a wide and modern mix of digital services,' said Paul Larbey, CEO of Bango. 'With the Bango DVM, they can move faster, launch smarter, and deliver the high-demand subscriptions people are asking for, from SVOD to AI.' About Bango Bango enables content providers to reach more paying customers through global partnerships. Bango revolutionized the monetization of digital content and services, by opening-up online payments to mobile phone users worldwide. Today, the Digital Vending Machine® is driving the rapid growth of the subscription economy, powering choice and control for subscribers. The world's largest content providers, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft trust Bango technology to reach subscribers everywhere. Bango, where people subscribe. For more information, visit Media contact: Anil Malhotra, CMO, Bangoanil@ +44 7710 480 377Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
