Anna Jiwon Park has been covering the politics at The Korea Times since the summer of 2024, when she joined the press pool for the Office of the President in Korea. Prior to that, she spent about five years reporting extensively on financial markets, regulatory authorities and the financial industry. She joined The Korea Times in 2019 after spending eight years as a broadcast journalist at Arirang TV, Korea’s leading global broadcaster, covering politics, defense and culture.
Lee-Trump summit expected in US within 2 weeks
President Lee Jae Myung delivers a special lecture to senior government officials at Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
By Anna J. Park
Lee, Trump to discuss security issues, further tariff details
President Lee Jae Myung is set to have a bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump soon, as the two nations agreed on the meeting while reaching a deal over the U.S. tariff on Korean goods, Thursday.
It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders. They are expected to discuss further details about the tariff agreement as well as security issues that were not addressed in the deal.
Trump announced the upcoming summit via his Truth Social account, disclosing plans to host Lee in Washington in the coming days.
Mentioning the agreements of Korea's $350 billion investment and $100 billion worth of liquefied natural gas and other energy purchases, the U.S. president said further details of the tariff deal would be finalized and announced during the upcoming summit.
“This sum will be announced within the next two weeks when the President of South Korea, Lee Jae Myung, comes to the White House for a Bilateral Meeting,” Trump wrote. “I would also like to congratulate the new President on his electoral success.”
Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul, Thrusday. Yonhap
Korea's presidential office also confirmed the summit plan, saying both governments are expected to finalize the date and format of the summit imminently.
“I believe the exact date will be decided soon through diplomatic consultations between Korea and the U.S.,” Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, said during a press briefing.
Lee was initially considering taking vacation during the first week of August, and with diplomatic and logistical arrangements still in motion, observers speculate that the summit may take place between Aug. 11 and 15. However, late next week still remains a possibility.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at an event to promote his proposal to improve Americans' access to their medical records in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday (local time). AP-Yonhap
Kim explained that the specific sectors and amounts of Korea’s investments in the U.S. would likely be further discussed at the summit. He also confirmed that security and defense-related issues such as the purchase of U.S. weapons would likely be addressed during the summit.
“This trade deal was negotiated primarily under U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and focused on commercial and investment issues,” Kim said. “Issues like defense spending and arms procurement are separate and are expected to be discussed during the summit."
His comments were in response to earlier speculations that the two nations might link trade and security issues, especially defense costs, together as a "package deal" — which was clearly not the case this time.
Kim noted that Trump directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to schedule the meeting as early as next week. However, due to logistical considerations, the summit is expected to take place within the next two weeks.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol also said it was Trump who proposed the meeting with Lee.
“President Trump seemed very eager to meet President Lee,” Koo said during a press briefing with Korean correspondents at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., Wednesday (local time).
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yun-cheol, center, reads a statement during a press briefing at the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., Wednesday (local time.) On the left is Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, and on the right is Minister of Trade Yeo Han-koo. Courtesy of Ministry of Economy and Finance
August's bilateral summit will mark the first-ever face-to-face encounter between Lee and Trump, as they only talked over the phone on June 6, two days after Lee's inauguration.
The two were previously expected to meet during the G7 summit in Canada in mid-June. However, the meeting was canceled when Trump returned home early, citing escalating military tensions between Israel and Iran.