Another Key South Korean Trade Official To Visit US After Hyundai Plant Detention Row

South Korea’s top trade negotiator, Yeo Han-koo, is visiting the U.S. on Monday in a bid to finalize the trade agreement the two countries struck in July.

"We're working hard to achieve an outcome that is reasonable and meets our national interests," Yeo said to reporters, according to a Reuters News report. Yeo’s visit follows Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan’s meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, which did not yield any progress.

The primary issue of contention is the structure of the $350 billion package the Asian powerhouse pledged to invest in the U.S. South Korean officials have flagged that Seoul cannot agree to similar terms agreed in a U.S.-Japan trade deal due to foreign exchange market implications.

According to the report, the finance ministry said on Sunday that it was in talks with Washington to minimize any impact on the onshore currency market from the investment package. However, it reportedly declined to confirm if these included a foreign exchange swap line.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) was in the ‘bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

Yeo also reportedly confirmed that South Korea did not intend to open up the agricultural market further, which has been a sticking point.

His visit comes on the heels of a controversial detention of hundreds of South Korean nationals at a Hyundai Motor battery plant. While Seoul struck an agreement to release the workers, the images of South Koreans in chains incited public anger, with the local media describing the facilities as worse than prison.

On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump defended the need for foreign workers by saying that foreign businesses should be allowed to bring in their employees to train Americans for complex industries.

The EWY ETF has risen over 52% this year, compared with 11.6% gains of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

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