Anchor: As some of Seoul’s top officials engage in full-fledged trade diplomacy in a bid to avoid Washington’s 25 percent reciprocal tariff before it takes effect Friday, Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol is headed for the U.S. to meet with his counterpart, Scott Bessent. 
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol departed on Tuesday for talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington, less than a week after the U.S. abruptly called off a “two-plus-two” dialogue involving both sides’ top trade officials. 

Prior to his departure, Koo pledged his all-out efforts to achieve a mutually beneficial agreement that is in the nation’s best interests.

Aside from the ministerial meeting scheduled for Thursday, one day before the U.S. is set to hit the country with a 25 percent reciprocal tariff, it’s possible that the South Korean minister could hold separate talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.

If Koo were to meet with Trump, it would signal that the two sides have narrowed down their differences within a broad framework, similar to how Japanese Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa held talks with the U.S. president just before striking a deal.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is also set to meet his American counterpart, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on the same day in Washington as part of Seoul’s diplomatic push to win a tariff exemption, or at least a reduced rate.
 
Industry and Energy Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, who held talks with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick last week, flew to Scotland on the weekend to continue negotiations as Lutnick accompanied Trump on his Scotland trip.

Speaking to Fox News, Lutnick said the South Korean officials coming to Scotland to meet with him and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer shows how much Seoul wants to get a deal done, adding that Trump has “all the cards in front of him.”

Business leaders are also headed to the U.S. to support the South Korean government's negotiations. 

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong departed for Washington on Tuesday, while Hanwha Group vice chairman Kim Dong-kwan is now in the U.S., likely to promote a project to benefit the U.S. shipbuilding industry.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.