Kim Yong-beom, Presidential Chief of Staff for Policy, who visited the United States for Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations and returned, said there was substantive progress on most of the issues.
Meeting reporters at Incheon Airport on the afternoon of Oct. 19 as he arrived with Yeo Han-koo, head of the Trade Negotiations Headquarters at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Kim said the two countries engaged in negotiations in a very serious and constructive atmosphere.
Kim added that compared with before the U.S. trip, the likelihood of a deal being reached on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit has increased, and said he would do his best until the end so that the negotiations can be smoothly concluded based on the results of this round of talks.
However, he noted that there are still parts that need coordination, adding that the ministries will review them in depth and further convey Korea's position, among other steps, requiring more negotiations.
Regarding the U.S.-bound investment funds, the core issue in the negotiations, he said, We are mindful of the figure of $350 billion, adding that the two countries are nearing consensus that this investment should be managed through mutually beneficial programs.
On discussions of a Korea-U.S. currency swap, he reiterated that the United States has come to understand the impact that large-scale U.S.-bound investment would have on the foreign exchange market, and that the two countries are converging on the view that a negotiation plan should be drawn up within a range that South Korea can bear.
Earlier, on Oct. 16 (local time), Kim and Yeo, among others, held about two hours of negotiations at the U.S. Department of Commerce building with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. They then continued for about 50 minutes with Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the White House, discussing the makeup and method of the U.S.-bound investment.