South Korea's trade minister meets Japanese envoy, US legislators over economic cooperation

Seoul, Aug 14 South Korea's trade minister met with the Japanese ambassador to South Korea on Thursday to discuss ways to strengthen the countries' economic partnership amid growing uncertainties in the global trade environment, officials said.

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with Amb. Koichi Mizushima in Seoul earlier in the day, as President Lee Jae Myung prepares to visit Japan to hold his first summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba next Saturday, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Yeo highlighted the importance of strengthening practical economic cooperation between the two countries, as South Korea and Japan mark 60 years since the normalization of diplomatic relations.

The minister also proposed working together to stabilize supply chains and solve trade-related issues in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change.

Further, Yeo proposed fostering communication between the two countries' overseas missions and trade promotion agencies to ensure the successful hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, set to be held in South Korea, and the Osaka Kansai Expo in Japan this year.

Separately, Yeo held a meeting with visiting US Rep. Richard McCormick (R-GA) and Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), seeking to secure a stable trade environment.

The meeting focused on bolstering economic cooperation as uncertainties linger after a recent tariff agreement between Seoul and Washington.

The minister asked for their support, indicating the significant South Korean investments in their home states, spanning chips, energy and automobiles.

Noting that "many areas still need negotiating between interested parties," Yeo asked them to pay extra attention to "creating a stable environment for Korean companies to trade and invest," according to the ministry.

Samsung Electronics has been building a new semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taylor, Texas.

Hyundai Motor Group is constructing a new electric vehicle plant in Georgia and partnering with Korean battery maker SK On to build a battery plant there, in addition to SK On's two battery plants in the state.

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