South Korea’s Kim to Visit Washington, Meet Lutnick on Shipbuilding, US Investment and Coupang

Kim to Return to US After About Two Months

To Attend Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center Opening in Washington on July 23

South Korea’s Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan will visit the US this week, with the Coupang issue also poised to surface during high-level diplomatic and trade talks.

Government officials said on July 19 that Kim will attend the opening ceremony for the Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center, or KUSPC, in Washington on July 23. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is also scheduled to attend.

The visit will be Kim’s first trip to the US in more than two months, after his previous trip in early May. He is set to leave South Korea on July 22 and return on July 24.

The Korea-US Shipbuilding Cooperation Center will serve as the local base for implementing the Korea-US Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative, or KUSPI, which the two governments launched in May. The center will support efforts to attract investment into the US maritime industry, train shipbuilding workers, improve shipyard productivity and promote technology exchanges. It will also link government agencies, companies and research institutions in both countries.

The US Commerce Department will support the center’s cooperation with local shipbuilders, equipment makers, universities and research institutes, and act as the US government’s point of contact. South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will provide the personnel and funding needed to operate the center and coordinate with related ministries and the domestic shipbuilding industry. At the end of June, the ministry formally launched the Korea-US Strategic Investment Project Management Committee and reviewed progress on candidate investment projects in the US as part of follow-up steps to strengthen bilateral cooperation in strategic industries.

The two sides are expected to focus on ways to deepen cooperation in the shipbuilding industry at the event. With Kim and Lutnick meeting again, however, they may also exchange views on a broader range of bilateral trade issues.

The Coupang matter, which US officials have raised previously, could be discussed again. During his last trip to the US, Kim explained the South Korean government’s position on the issue to the American side.

Speaking to reporters on his return to South Korea at the time, Kim said he had raised the issue first when asked whether the US had made any demands related to Coupang. He said he asked whether US officials were familiar with Coupang and then explained the Korean government’s basic position, adding that the discussion appeared to help clear up misunderstandings.

The dispute over Coupang was triggered by a major personal data leak in November 2025. South Korean authorities carried out an investigation and follow-up measures under personal information protection laws. But some in the US government and political circles have argued that because Coupang is a US company, Seoul’s response amounted to discriminatory treatment of an American firm.

Park Su-bin, Hankyung.com reporter, waterbean@hankyung.com