South Korea has appointed former trade envoy Yeo Han-koo as its new Minister for Trade, the Office of the President announced on Tuesday. The move signals the administration’s urgency to resume negotiations with Washington over suspended US tariffs, which have cast a shadow over key South Korean export sectors.
Yeo, a seasoned trade strategist, steps into the role as President Lee Jae-myung prioritises tariff reductions in the wake of delays caused by a leadership vacuum. The United States imposed 25% tariffs on South Korean imports, among the highest applied to any American ally, on 2 April. While those levies are currently suspended, the relief expires in early July, leaving a narrow window for diplomatic progress.
South Korea’s automotive, aluminium, and steel industries have borne the brunt of these tariffs, with negotiations to ease them now elevated to a national priority. Yeo’s appointment is widely viewed as a strategic measure to accelerate these efforts ahead of the looming deadline.
Yeo previously served as South Korea’s trade minister from August 2021 to early 2022 under former President Moon Jae-in and played a key role in negotiations with the United States during the first Trump administration. His diplomatic experience includes his tenure as commercial attaché at the Korean Embassy in Washington, where he was actively involved in revising the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement and navigating Section 232 steel negotiations in 2017.
Over the past two years, Yeo has been a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, further deepening his expertise in global trade dynamics.
In a parallel appointment, Lee Hyoung-il, head of the national statistics agency, has been named first vice finance minister. He will temporarily lead the Ministry of Economy and Finance until a permanent finance minister is appointed, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.
Both appointments are seen as critical to strengthening South Korea’s economic leadership at a time of intensifying global trade pressures.
-Reuters
