Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, stated that South Korean officials came to meet him during his visit to Scotland.
On the 28th (local time), Secretary Lutnick mentioned in an interview with Fox News, "Koreans flew to Scotland after dinner to meet me and Jamieson Greer, the representative of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)." Here, 'Koreans' seems to refer to Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan and Deputy Minister Yeo Han-koo.
Secretary Lutnick added, "Think about how genuinely they want a deal to be reached." This was in response to the host's question, "Is Korea in negotiations? Is it envious of Japan?"
Minister Kim and Deputy Minister Yeo met with Secretary Lutnick and others in Washington, D.C., and New York on the 24th and 25th to continue negotiations, and upon realizing that Secretary Lutnick was accompanying President Trump on his visit to Scotland, they are said to have headed to Scotland.
On the 27th, Secretary Lutnick attended a session with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (EU), after which he announced a trade agreement, but did not attend the U.S.-U.K. summit held between President Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It is inferred that contact with Minister Kim and Deputy Minister Yeo may have occurred either on that day or the previous day, the 26th.
Minister Kim and Deputy Minister Yeo are expected to move from Scotland back to Washington to continue final negotiations with Secretary Lutnick before the deadline for the suspension of reciprocal tariffs on August 1.
That day, Secretary Lutnick responded to the question, "Is there a possibility that all transactions could be finalized before August 1?" by saying, "Yes. Everything is ready. My role is to prepare the table for the president," adding, "What to do is up to him."