Lee confident US will reach fair deal on $350B investment
South Korea and the United States are racing to finalize a $350 billion investment agreement before next week’s APEC summit, with President Lee Jae Myung expressing confidence that both nations will reach a rational solution. Korean officials met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday for their second round of talks in less than a week, reporting incremental progress on remaining disputes.
The framework under discussion would require Seoul to invest $25 billion annually over eight years, totaling $200 billion in direct payments, while converting the remaining $150 billion into guarantees. The commitment equals 84 percent of Korea’s foreign exchange reserves and nearly one-fifth of its economic output, raising concerns about currency stability amid the won’s recent six-month low.
Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol told Bloomberg that the government is prioritizing investment structure over currency swap arrangements, suggesting a swap may prove unnecessary depending on final terms. Seoul began issuing dollar and yen bonds on Wednesday to build liquidity buffers ahead of the potential deal.
Both governments hope to complete negotiations before Lee and President Trump meet at the Gyeongju summit, where the agreement could reduce American tariffs on Korean goods from 25 percent to 15 percent.
