SEOUL -- South Korea's trade chief, Jeong In-kyo, plans to visit Washington, D.C. next week for discussions with Katherine Tai, the U.S. trade representative.
Jeong, who leads the trade department at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will use the visit to address various trade concerns between the two countries, including the implementation of their existing free trade agreement (FTA).
With the U.S. presidential election looming in November, Jeong plans to meet with American officials and trade experts. While avoiding specific comments on the possible impact of the U.S. election on bilateral trade issues, Jeong said his team is preparing for various scenarios.
"My main focus will be gathering opinions from local experts and leaders on both bilateral trade matters and issues relevant to my role as chief negotiator," Jeong told reporters. "It's not appropriate for us to speculate on who might win the election. However, I can assure you that we are actively preparing for different possibilities."
"We will be paying closer attention to the situation as we get closer to November," he said.
Jeong's U.S. visit Tcomes just two weeks after Jeong and Tai briefly met in Abu Dhabi at a World Trade Organization conference. Jeong, who took office in January, will be making his first official trip to the United States since assuming his new role.
