3주 만에 재방미 김정관 “대미투자 막판 쟁점…어떻게든 해결”

South Korean Industry and Trade Minister Kim Jong-kwan visited the US for the third time in three weeks to address practical issues arising from the "First US Investment Project". The trip, following a July 23 joint press conference with the US-Korea Steering Committee, comes as Seoul seeks to align the bilateral negotiations.

Kim announced that the US side is pressuring for faster investment, but stated he has not faced any direct pressure over tariff increases. He revealed that he was expecting the project announcement to take place between "late August and early September", but had to engage in detailed negotiations at the last minute due to various practical issues. He confirmed that despite recent reports of US tariff pressure, he did not experience any direct imposition.

Kim also addressed the ongoing tariff of 15% on Korean products, assuring that South Korea will uphold the spirit of their previous labor negotiations, without warning the public about the timeline. When asked about the feasibility of the "late August to early September" project announcement deadline, he said that while there is no fixed sequence between the US investigations and the project announcement, the two sides are committed to working together to resolve any outstanding issues.