Lee Jae-myung-Trump, Countdown to First Korea-US Summit... Likely to be Held on the 25th in Washington

[Financial News]  South Korea and the United States are finalizing arrangements to hold their first summit on the 25th of this month. If the meeting is successful, President Lee Jae-myung will officially step onto the diplomatic stage with US President Donald Trump 82 days after taking office. The government is accelerating the final working-level consultations and plans to announce the specific schedule and agenda soon.
According to political and diplomatic circles on the 7th, this meeting is expected to be a venue for broad discussions on the issues of the Korea-US alliance, in conjunction with the recently concluded Korea-US trade agreement. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung said, "Due to diplomatic protocol, we cannot disclose the schedule until it is officially confirmed," but anticipated that the opinions of both sides would be finalized soon.
In particular, various agendas are expected to be discussed, including a $350 billion (approximately 485 trillion won) investment in the US, the increase in tariffs on advanced industries such as semiconductors demanded by the US, defense cost sharing, and changes in the strategic role of US forces in Korea.
The government is focusing on alleviating the burden by emphasizing the "promise of most-favored-nation treatment" in relation to the US's announcement of a "100% semiconductor tariff," but attention is focused on what final agreement will be reached in the actual summit negotiations.
On the occasion of the summit, the two countries are also in final discussions on whether to adopt a joint statement containing key messages such as the advancement of the Korea-US alliance, the Indo-Pacific strategy, and trilateral security cooperation between Korea, the US, and Japan.
In addition, intensive discussions are expected on Korea-US economic and security cooperation measures, including the strategic flexibility of US forces in Korea, the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost sharing, and cooperation in the shipbuilding industry ("Masuga" project).
Meanwhile, the timing of this summit is considered very fast compared to previous presidents. Compared to the timing of the first Korea-US summit after the inauguration of former presidents Kim Young-sam (135 days), Kim Dae-jung (104 days), Roh Moo-hyun (79 days), Lee Myung-bak (54 days), Park Geun-hye (71 days), Moon Jae-in (81 days), and Yoon Seok-youl (11 days), it is evaluated as exceptional.




west@fnnews.com Sung Seok-woo Reporter