Kim Jeong-gwan said he would "clear up misunderstandings with the U.S.," but his meeting with Lutnick ended after just 30 minutes

Asked whether he had blocked a 'tariff hike'

Minister Kim: "It’s not at that stage"

To meet Lutnick again on the 31st

Kim Jeong-gwan, South Korea’s minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, met Howard Lutnick, the U.S. commerce secretary, on the 29th (local time) in an effort to prevent a hike in U.S. reciprocal tariffs, but the meeting is said to have produced little in the way of concrete results. Minister Kim said he would meet with Secretary Lutnick again the following day.

After visiting the U.S. Department of Commerce building in Washington, D.C. and meeting Lutnick, Kim told reporters that there had been “a lot of dialogue” and that “we decided to talk once more tomorrow morning.”

Asked whether he had prevented the tariff increase, he said, “It’s not at the stage where I can say whether it was blocked or not,” and added that they “did not go as far as” discussing matters such as the schedule for publication in the Federal Register of a 25% tariff. The remarks suggested the talks had made little headway. In fact, Kim arrived at the Commerce Department building at around 5 p.m. and left at 6:24 p.m. The conversation with Lutnick is said to have lasted about 30 minutes.

The meeting between Kim and Lutnick was arranged on an urgent basis after President Donald Trump said on social media on the 26th that he would “restore tariffs on Korean products to 25%,” citing the “pace of legislation” on the Special Act on Investment in the United States. Kim, who had been visiting Canada, said at Dulles International Airport the previous day that he would “explain clearly so there are no misunderstandings about the progress of domestic legislation, and fully lay out the government’s position on cooperation and investment with the United States.”

Kim was reportedly set to leave the country the next day after the meeting with Lutnick, but with a morning meeting scheduled for the 30th, his return to South Korea is expected to be somewhat delayed.

Yeo Han-koo, head of trade negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, also arrived in Washington that day. Starting on the 30th, he is set to hold talks with U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer and others on a broad range of South Korea–U.S. trade issues, including tariffs and digital regulation.

A trade expert said, “With a Supreme Court ruling on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) looming, the U.S. is in a situation where it can’t help but take a hard line,” and predicted that “if Korea’s tariffs are ‘restored to their previous level,’ it could affect other countries that have negotiated with the United States.”

Reported by Kim Dae-hoon / Ha Ji-eun daepun@hankyung.com