[Exclusive] Kim Min-seok to Hold First Meeting with U.S. Ambassador Michelle Eunjoo Steel on the 15th; Hormuz Deployment Talks in Focus

[Financial News] Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, will hold his first meeting since her inauguration with Michelle Eunjoo Steel, the new United States Ambassador to South Korea, on the 15th. Ambassador Steel is also scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, that day, meeting with the leaders of both ruling and opposition parties in succession.
According to the ruling camp on the 11th, Kim will receive a courtesy visit from Ambassador Steel at the National Assembly that day. This will be the first time Steel, who officially took office in August, has paid a courtesy visit to Kim.
Ambassador Steel is also reportedly scheduled to visit Jang that day. Just over a month after taking office, she will hold a series of meetings with the leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties, marking the beginning of full-fledged communication with the National Assembly.
Earlier, Ambassador Steel paid a courtesy visit to National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik on the 21st of last month, where they discussed the South Korea-U.S. alliance and ways to expand exchanges between the two countries’ legislatures.
Kim and Ambassador Steel are expected to exchange views on economic and trade issues between South Korea and the United States, as well as bilateral relations more broadly. The deployment issue involving the Strait of Hormuz, which has recently emerged as a key issue, may also be discussed. In particular, as calls for caution and arguments for taking a role remain divided even within the ruling camp, attention is focused on what position Ambassador Steel will convey at the meeting and what message Kim will deliver in response.
[email protected] Song Ji-won Reporter