Latest news with #KooYuncheol
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
South Korea fin min, trade envoy to hold 2+2 trade talks with US counterparts
SEOUL, July 22 (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.
South China Morning Post
29-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
South Korea's Lee nominates finance minister to tackle growth, Trump
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung nominated Koo Yun-cheol as the next finance minister, turning to a veteran bureaucrat to guide the economy at a time of sluggish growth and mounting trade pressures from the Trump administration. 'The president nominated Koo Yun-cheol, a widely recognised policy expert, as finance minister as he is a figure who has long contemplated Korea's innovation and is well-suited to chart a path for national growth,' Kang Hoon-sik, Lee's chief of staff, said in a televised press conference on Sunday. Koo, a former second vice finance minister and head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, would return to the top economic post as Lee forms a team to counter rising headwinds following months of political turmoil. While serving under then-finance minister Hong Nam-ki during the Moon Jae-in administration, Koo helped guide Korea's economy through the Covid-19 pandemic and the inflation shocks of the early 2020s. The 60-year-old holds a doctorate in business administration from Chung-Ang University and a degree in economics from Seoul National University. Koo would take the reins from Kim Beom-seok, who has filled the role on an acting basis since Choi Sang-mok resigned. The nomination comes just weeks after Lee's victory over conservative rival Kim Moon-su in a closely watched presidential election. The snap vote was triggered by President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment in April following his botched declaration of martial law late last year.
