South Korea appoints ex-trade chief Yeo Han-koo as new trade minister
SEOUL: South Korea appointed former chief trade envoy Yeo Han-koo (pic) as its top trade negotiator, the president's office said on Tuesday (June 10), as Asia's fourth largest economy prepares for negotiations with Washington to reduce the tariffs.
The United States imposed 25% levies on South Korea on April 2, one of the highest tariffs for a US ally, though they have been suspended until early July.
Cutting tariffs is a top policy priority for South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung after a leadership vacuum in recent months helped delay talks between Seoul and Washington.
The president also appointed statistics agency chief Lee Hyoung-il as first vice finance minister to lead the ministry until a finance minister is formally appointed, Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.
Sectoral tariffs have hurt South Korea's key industries including cars, aluminium and steel.
Yeo was trade chief between August 2021 and early 2022 during left-leaning President Moon Jae-in's administration and was involved in Korea-US talks under the first Trump administration.
While serving as commercial attache at the Korean Embassy in Washington, he was involved in amendment negotiations of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement and Section 232 steel negotiations in 2017.
For the past two years Yeo has been a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. - Reuters
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