President Lee Jae-myung will hold a dinner meeting with Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong on the 24th. Following dinners with Hanwha Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan on the 22nd and SK Chairman Chey Tae-won on the 23rd, this marks a series of meetings with business leaders. Last week, President Lee invited Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo to the presidential residence for dinner. This action demonstrates President Lee's intention to expand communication with corporations, as he has declared a focus on pragmatic, centrist conservative growth centered around businesses.
According to political circles and the business community on the 24th, President Lee will hold a private meeting with Chairman Lee that evening without any attendees. This meeting is expected to involve discussions about investment in the U.S. and global trade. Specifically, it seems likely that the discussions will revolve around domestic corporations' investments in the U.S., a purpose intended for negotiations on tariffs with the Donald Trump administration, one week ahead of the tariff imposition deadline (August 1) announced by Trump.
The government is reportedly considering creating a U.S. investment fund like Japan did after concluding tariff negotiations with the U.S. Bloomberg News also reported, citing sources, that "the Korean government is discussing the establishment of a fund that invests in the U.S. during trade negotiations." Previously, Japan successfully negotiated a reciprocal tariff reduction (from 25% to 15%) with the U.S. on the condition of a $550 billion investment.
President Lee's series of meetings with business leaders are taking place amidst the final coordination phase of the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations led by Security Office Chief Wi Seong-rak. Experts agree that Trump, who is experiencing political crises such as the so-called 'Epstein allegations,' seeks to balance these by achieving 'external negotiation outcomes' for domestic political purposes. Ultimately, it is essential for our government to persuade Trump through local investments centered around large corporations.
Earlier, Chung Eui-sun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, announced a $21 billion investment plan directly to President Trump in March, which includes expanding vehicle production in Georgia and building a new steel factory in Louisiana. Since last month, President Lee has been consistently meeting with business leaders to gather information on U.S. investment plans and research and development investments, emphasizing the 'active role of corporations.'