Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho on Wednesday met with key Wall Street figures in New York and requested that they play the role of a bridge between Seoul and the incoming U.S. government.
 
According to the Finance Ministry, Yoo met with Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of global investment bank Goldman Sachs and Stephen Schwarzman, head of the asset management firm Blackstone. The ministry said that Yoo talked about South Korea’s economic and political situation as well as policy directions.
 
He also explained that despite the parliamentary impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s national system is being operated stably in line with the Constitution and laws.
 
Blankfein said he is deeply impressed by the fact that South Korea’s government and economic system are running smoothly, and that he does not question the predictability of South Korea’s political situation.
 
Yoo is scheduled to hold a seminar on South Korea’s economy in New York on Wednesday and stress the South Korean economy’s external stability and financial capability.
 
Goldman Sachs is the former workplace of Steven Mnuchin, who U.S. President-elect Donald Trump picked as his secretary of treasury. Schwarzman, meanwhile, will chair the strategic and policy forum created by Trump.