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.
Korea-US summit expected to take place Aug. 25
President Lee Jae Myung speaks on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump at his official residence in Seoul, June 6. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seok
By Anna J. Park
First summit meeting anticipated to discuss trade, tariff and alliance
The first summit between Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to take place on Aug. 25 in Washington, D.C.
According to multiple local media reports and government sources, Lee is likely to arrive in the United States on Aug. 24, with the summit scheduled for the following day at the White House.
While final arrangements for the summit schedule are reportedly underway with U.S. officials, the possibility of changes to the date during final negotiations cannot be ruled out.
The presidential office has remained tight-lipped about the summit schedule, underscoring the importance of diplomatic protocols and joint coordination between the two countries.
“The summit date will be determined through diplomatic coordination between the two countries, and due to diplomatic practices, we cannot provide advance details at this time,” presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters during a press briefing at the presidential office Thursday.
“Once the date is finalized and mutual agreement is reached, we will of course inform the media first.”
U.S. President Donald Trump announces an additional $100 billion Apple investment in the U.S. in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Wednesday (local time). UPI-Yonhap
If the summit takes place as expected on Aug. 25, Lee will meet his U.S. counterpart 82 days after taking office.
The upcoming summit between Seoul and Washington is anticipated to cover a wide range of issues concerning the South Korea-U.S. alliance, including follow-up negotiations on tariffs and trade matters.
In addition to trade, the talks are also likely to address the so-called “modernization” of the alliance, which may include increased South Korean defense spending, adjustments to the role and deployment of U.S. Forces Korea and closer alignment with U.S. efforts to counter China.
Lee had initially planned to hold his first bilateral meeting with Trump in mid-June during the G7 summit in Canada. However, the meeting was canceled after Trump abruptly returned to the U.S. due to developments related to an Israeli airstrike on Iran.