South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said on Monday the US has come forward with a new proposal concerning Seoul’s pledged $350 billion investment and the country is examining the alternative, signaling progress in their stalled tariff negotiations.
“The $350 billion investment initially proposed by the US included loans and loan guarantees, but it was later revised to consist solely of direct investment,” Cho told lawmakers during a session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.
In response to the US demand, South Korea has proposed an unlimited currency swap line, addressing the potential severe impact that a direct investment of such an amount could have on its domestic economy and foreign exchange market.
“We conveyed such concerns to the US side and the US came up with a new alternative. Now we are in the process of examining it,” the minister said during the annual parliamentary audit.
A currency swap line has emerged as a sticking point in their trade negotiations following their broader tariff agreement in July.
Seoul has also demanded a reasonable cap on the proportion of its direct investment in the US and a guarantee that it will have a say in selecting investment targets based on commercial viability.
NEW SUMMIT BETWEEN SOUTH KOREA AND US
Cho said Seoul will continue to make efforts to advance the tariff talks, ahead of a bilateral meeting between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, Korea, later this month.
FINANCE MINISTER TO MEET WITH BESSENT
Meanwhile, South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol is set to meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, D.C. this week. It will likely mark their second bilateral meeting in less than a month, following talks in New York.
Testifying before the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee on Monday, Koo confirmed that discussions with the US are underway to arrange a meeting with Bessent.
Koo, who also serves as deputy prime minister for the economy, is scheduled to attend the G20 Finance Ministers meeting and the annual International Monetary Fund (IMF) gathering that began on Oct. 15 in Washington, D.C.
By Yeonhee Kim
yhkim@hankyung.com
Jennifer Nicholson-Breen edited this article.
