Latest news with #YeoHan-koo
Korea Herald
a day ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
S. Korea to expedite trade negotiations with US: new trade minister
South Korea will expedite the ongoing trade negotiations with the United States with the new government in place, the new trade minister said Thursday, as Seoul has less than a month to make a deal with Washington before the temporary pause of US reciprocal tariffs ends. "As the country now has a new government that has democratic legitimacy and a clear mandate, we will expedite the 'shuttle negotiations' with the US at a trade minister's level," Yeo Han-koo, South Korea's new trade minister, said in his inauguration address. "Through this process, the government will create a new structural framework for mutually beneficial Korea-US cooperation in industry, trade and investment over the next five years." Yeo added he will work to achieve a "pragmatic" and "national interest-oriented" outcome in trade talks with the US with an aim to expand cooperation between the two countries in advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and digital, boost the global competitiveness of Korean industries and foster new growth engines for the economy. The trade ministry will first establish an all-out response system for trade negotiations with the US, expanding the existing task force on the matter to comprehensively cover trade, industry and energy issues, he explained. "In addition, the chief of the working-level representatives on our side will be elevated from the current director level to the first-class senior level," he noted. "As much as South Korea needs the United States, the United States also needs Korea." South Korea has been engaging in trade negotiations with the US on tariffs, non-tariff measures and other issues, with the two sides having agreed to craft a package deal by July 8 -- when US President Donald Trump's administration's suspension of "reciprocal" tariffs will end. The Trump administration slapped South Korea with 25 percent reciprocal tariffs in early April, raising issues with Seoul's big trade surplus with Washington and non-tariff barriers, such as an import ban on American beef from cattle aged 30 months or older and restrictions on the overseas transfer of the country's high-precision map data. (Yonhap)
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
South Korea appoints ex-trade chief Yeo Han-koo as new trade minister
SEOUL: South Korea appointed former chief trade envoy Yeo Han-koo (pic) as its top trade negotiator, the president's office said on Tuesday (June 10), as Asia's fourth largest economy prepares for negotiations with Washington to reduce the tariffs. The United States imposed 25% levies on South Korea on April 2, one of the highest tariffs for a US 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-US 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-US 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. - Reuters
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
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.
