Korea's top policymakers to visit US next week amid push for tariff relief
Seoul treads carefully as Washington proposes linking trade relief to military, energy deals
Korea's top economic policymakers are set to visit the United States next week in a coordinated diplomatic push to ease US President Donald Trump's tariffs on Korean exports.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance confirmed on Thursday that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will travel to Washington, where he is scheduled to meet with his US counterpart, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
While the exact schedule and attendees are still being finalized, the meeting is expected to focus on pressing trade issues between the two allies.
'The US Department of the Treasury proposed a meeting with Secretary Bessent on major trade-related issues in conjunction with Deputy Prime Minister Choi's visit next week,' the ministry told reporters.
Choi's trip to Washington will coincide with the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, scheduled for April 23–24, which will take place on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
The high-stakes trip underscores Seoul's efforts to protect key industries and maintain economic stability amid growing global protectionism.
In a parallel effort, Korea's Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun is also coordinating plans to visit Washington as early as next week to meet with senior US officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The talks will focus on negotiating potential revisions or exemptions from the newly announced US duties on Korean goods.
On April 10, the Trump administration announced a 90-day pause on country-specific "reciprocal tariffs" to bring some 70 countries, including key US partners such as Korea, Japan, the UK, Australia and India, to the negotiation table while keeping a separate 10 percent universal tariff in place.
For the three-month period, the reciprocal tariff rate on Korean goods exported to the US was lowered from an initial 25 percent to 10 percent.
Product-specific tariffs will remain, such as the 25 percent duties on steel and automobiles.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Bessent outlined the administration's strategy of sequential negotiations with Asian partners. 'We had Vietnam in last week. We've got the Japanese in on Wednesday. … South Korea next week,' he said. Bessent also said that early participants in the negotiation process would likely secure more favorable terms, describing it as a 'first mover advantage.'
In a phone call on April 8 between Trump and Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the US administration floated the idea of a broader "package deal" approach, proposing discussion on multiple issues in tandem.
These include tariffs, a reduction of Korea's trade surplus with the US, cooperation in the shipbuilding sector, Korean purchases of US liquefied natural gas, a joint investment in the Alaska pipeline, and an increase in Korea's contribution to the cost of stationing US troops here.
However, the Korean government made it clear that it does not intend to pursue a package deal that links trade negotiations with defense cost-sharing.
'In my conversation with President Trump, we agreed to strengthen cooperation in three key areas — shipbuilding, trade balance and energy — to reinforce the strong Korea-US alliance,' Han said during a visit to Kia Motors' Gwangju plant on Tuesday.
'Based on this cooperation, we are working to ease the burden on industries most affected by the steep US tariffs, particularly the automotive, components, steel and aluminum sectors.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
2 hours ago
- Korea Herald
PM nominee to undergo parliamentary confirmation hearing next week
Rival parties will hold a two-day confirmation hearing for Prime Minister nominee Kim Min-seok next week, a lawmaker said Tuesday. Under the plan, the confirmation hearing will take place Tuesday and Wednesday next week, Rep. Lee Jong-bae of the People Power Party said. Lee heads the parliamentary confirmation hearing special committee. President Lee Jae Myung submitted a request to the National Assembly seeking a confirmation hearing for Kim on June 10. By law, the National Assembly is mandated to complete the confirmation hearing by June 25 and parliamentary evaluation by June 29. Kim, a former student activist turned four-term lawmaker, played a key role in Lee's presidential campaign. Meanwhile, the prime minister nominee underscored engagement with North Korea when asked about the possibility of resuming inter-Korean dialogue or a now-scrapped 2018 military tension reduction pact. "Whichever happens, wouldn't they be linked to dialogue?" Kim said in a press briefing with foreign journalists Tuesday, without elaborating when such events could take place. South Korea fully halted the inter-Korean accord in June last year over the North's cross-border balloon campaigns, after partially suspending it in 2023 in response to the North's launch of a military spy satellite. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
5 hours ago
- Korea Herald
At 60, Seoul, Tokyo toast to what's next — not what was
Anchored by the slogan 'Joining Hands for a Better Future,' the reception commemorating 60 years of diplomatic normalization between Korea and Japan spotlighted a clear shared commitment to transform the two countries' relationship into a forward-looking, strategic partnership fit for today's turbulent world. Beneath the chandeliers of a ballroom brimming with guests from all walks of life — from diplomats and business leaders to young students — the air buzzed with optimism and the clinking of glasses at a reception hosted by the Japanese Embassy at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Monday evening. South Korea and Japan signed the Treaty on Basic Relations on June 22, 1965, and exchanged instruments of ratification on December 18 of that year, formally normalizing diplomatic ties. The year 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of that milestone. "The fact that Japan-Korea relations are becoming closer and developing is something no one can deny,' Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Mizushima told participants during the reception on Monday. "Amid today's shifting strategic environment, the importance of Korea-Japan relations continues to grow — and the relationship has now reached an irreversible stage." Back in 1965, annual travel between the two countries stood at just around 10,000. In 2024, it surpassed 12 million, averaging more than triple the 1965 total in a single day. Japan's investment in Korea has also soared, from $500,000 in 1965 to $6.12 billion in 2024, making it Korea's largest investor, Mizushima said. "Sixty years corresponds to a full cycle — a hwangap — in the East Asian cultural sphere where Japan and Korea are both located. In other words, one full cycle has passed since the normalization of Japan-Korea diplomatic ties,' Mizushima said. 'This signifies that Japan-Korea relations now stand at a new starting point. We must not remain complacent with the present, but instead support the next generation who will carry the future of both nations, and begin the next cycle to dramatically advance Japan-Korea relations with full momentum.' The evening vividly illustrated how far the two countries have come since the 1965 treaty, as relations evolved from government-to-government dialogue into a broad web of economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. The ballroom was filled with music as students at the Seoul Japanese School choir performed, including a Korean rendition of Spring in My Hometown. Arirang, a beloved Korean folk song, was also performed, sung and arranged by Japan's Mikage Project, a group dedicated to composing and reinterpreting traditional Japanese folk music. Korean pianist Lee Kyung-mi, who spent seven years in Japan from the age of nine and made her musical debut there, performed at the event, continuing her long-standing role as a cultural bridge between Korea and Japan through friendship concerts — even during strained diplomatic times. The event also featured a joint performance by Korean trot singer Kim Da-hyun and Japanese artist Azuma Aki. Both appeared on Korea-Japan King of Singers, the first-ever joint Korean-Japanese music competition show, co-produced by Korea's MBN and Japan's Fuji TV to promote friendship through music. "I hope that Korea-Japan relations will continue to develop in a stable and future-oriented manner based on the achievements and progress made thus far,' South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said in his congratulatory video message, adding that 'the two countries are important partners who must seek responses together amid rapidly changing international circumstances.' 'Joining hands for a better future — let us move forward together!' Akihisa Nagashima, special advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, underscored that "close communication and expanding the scope of cooperation between the two countries is not a choice but a necessity in light of today's grave international environment." Ryu Jin, chair of the Federation of Korean Industries and chair of Poongsan Corp., offered a toast on behalf of the Korean side, following a kagami-biraki ceremony — a traditional Japanese ritual that involves breaking open a sake barrel to symbolize harmony and new beginnings. 'The Korean business community is fully committed to supporting President Lee Jae-myung's new pragmatic administration in further developing future-oriented cooperation between our two countries,' Ryu said. 'Today, Korea-Japan relations stand at a new starting point for the next 60 years.' dagyumji@
Korea Herald
6 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Woori's investor gap: Value trap or untapped potential?
Woori's foreign ownership lags KB, Shinhan, Hana as strategic shift stalls While foreign investors have poured into South Korea's major banking stocks over the past year, Woori Financial Group remains an outlier. Unlike peers KB, Hana, and Shinhan— whose foreign ownership ranges from 60 percent to nearly 80 percent — Woori is the only top-tier financial group with les than 50 percent foreign ownership. As of Tuesday, foreign investors' total stake in Woori stood at 46 percent, compared to KB Financial Group's 78 percent and Hana's 67 percent. The gap, despite a broad rally in Korean financial stocks, suggests that global investors may view Woori as less attractive than its peers. One likely reason for Woori's relatively low foreign ownership is its unique shareholder structure, a legacy of its privatization. To recover 12 trillion won ($8.81 billion) in public funds, the government sold shares to private investors, who would have board nomination rights, provided they held a more than 4 percent stake. Unlike its peers, Woori still has significant stakes held by domestic strategic investors. Korea Investment & Securities, Fubon Hyundai Life, Kiwoom Securities and Eugene PE collectively hold about 14 percent. The Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, which held 21 percent, fully exited last year. Woori's employee stock ownership association holds another 8.2 percent. 'Most of these major shareholders are domestic. It's rare for a Korean financial group to have this structure, which effectively keeps foreign ownership low,' said Kim Woo-jin, senior banking analyst at the Korea Institute of Finance. 'What matters more than the headline figure is the share of foreign holdings relative to the actual tradable float.' While the exact figure wasn't disclosed, a company official noted that Woori's foreign ownership would be higher if measured against the float — the shares freely traded on the market. This concentrated ownership not only reduces foreign accessibility but also raises overhang concerns — the risk that major shareholders could offload large amounts of shares. But after another major shareholder IMM PE's recent exit, Woori's CFO said in a February earnings call that no further divestments by major shareholders are expected, adding, 'We believe Woori's overhang risk has been fully resolved.' Woori's limited business diversification also weighs on sentiment. Over 90 percent of its profit comes from banking, compared to 60 percent at KB and 70 percent at Shinhan. Hana, while similarly reliant on banking, is still supported by more developed and balanced non-bank operations. 'Investors favor banks with diversified income and scalable growth beyond lending,' said Rena Kwok, senior credit analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. 'Woori remains more domestically concentrated and may still be viewed as lagging in strategic clarity, particularly in expanding into non-banking businesses.' Chairman and CEO Yim Jong-ryong has been trying to change that. Since taking office in March 2023, he has led the integration of Tongyang Life and ABL Life and relaunched Woori's securities business. Once the insurers are officially incorporated in July, the group expects its reliance on banking to decline to 82 percent. Woori is also working to improve its financial fundamentals. It remains the only major Korean banking group with a Common Equity Tier 1 ratio below 13 percent, posting 12.42 percent in the first quarter. But it logged the largest CET1 gain among peers and aims to reach 12.5 percent this year and 13 percent by 2027. Return on equity also trails peers. Woori posted just over 9 percent, excluding one-off expenses, compared to KB's 13 percent, Shinhan's 11.3 percent and Hana's 10.6 percent. The firm expects ROE to improve by up to 1 percentage point after the insurance integration. 'The key for Woori isn't short-term performance, but strengthening its earnings structure,' said KFI's Kim. 'It's not about whether non-bank units exist, but whether they generate solid returns. Strong operations, combined with credible leadership, can make Woori more appealing to global investors.' Kim also noted growing investor confidence in leadership. Since Yim took office, Woori's stock has climbed 90 percent over three years. This year, it ranked among the top 10 most purchased by foreign investors, including a 10 percent gain in June alone. 'Ultimately, investors look at leadership—can the CEO deliver returns?' Kim said. 'Even if earnings are still catching up, investor confidence in leadership can drive capital inflows.' A local market expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, echoed the sentiment, noting that Yim's combination of bureaucratic experience and successful leadership at NH NongHyup Financial Group has earned him credibility. 'If his leadership gains traction, it could send a strong signal to global investors. And with foreign ownership still low, there's room for additional inflows that could lift the stock.' Kwok pointed to governance as another area in need of improvement. Woori came under legal scrutiny over alleged improper loans tied to its former chairman, resulting in a downgrade of its regulatory management rating and delaying its non-banking expansion. 'Scandals in Korea's financial sector tend to have repercussions, and Woori's handling of the fallout has exposed broader governance weaknesses. It evidently needs stronger board independence, better succession planning and tighter internal control systems," she said, adding Woori must also improve transparency in decision-making to align with global standards. jwc@
