S.Korea braces for tough US trade talks, liberal party issues caution

By Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin

South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo said on Monday he expected trade talks with the United States this week in Washington to be the start of meaningful cooperation, but added that negotiations may not be easy.

Han said that South Korea's ministers of finance and industry are meeting U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and USTR representative Jamieson Greer on April 24 at 8 a.m. (0000 GMT).

Seoul will make an "all-out effort" to find a mutually beneficial solution by "calmly and seriously" consulting with the U.S. under the principle of prioritising national interest, Han said.

"The consultation process with the U.S. may not be easy and (I am) aware that many expectations and concerns coexist as consultations with the U.S. kick off," Han said at a meeting with South Korean government officials to discuss the economy.

Han said the discussions would focus on trade balances, shipbuilding and liquefied natural gas. However, Trump has previously said defence cost-sharing would be part of "one-stop shopping" negotiations with Seoul.

Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun, who will attend the talks with U.S. counterparts, told lawmakers on Monday that he will relay a request to exempt South Korea from steel and auto tariffs, Yonhap news agency reported citing lawmakers from parliament's trade committee.

Kim Hyun-chong, a foreign policy adviser to the country's presidential frontrunner Lee Jae-myung, cautioned the conservative-led interim administration on Monday against hastily negotiating and making significant concessions to the United States, warning that it would jeopardise national interests.

Kim, who heads the liberal party's task force on trade and security, said the interim government should not be in charge of the negotiations, asserting that no deal is better than a bad deal.

Kim served as South Korea's trade minister in 2018 when the country renegotiated a free trade deal with the United States during Trump's first term.

The presidential election will be held on June 3, after the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol for his December martial law declaration.