Seoul, April 28 (IANS) Trade Minister Cheong In-kyo said on Monday the government will make all-out efforts to attract more foreign investment and support the return of local firms from overseas.
Cheong made the remarks during a policy coordination meeting with local government leaders and officials from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reports Yonhap news agency.
“Expanding foreign direct investment (FDI) and supporting reshoring companies are keys to enhancing national industrial competitiveness and revitalising regional economies, even in the face of abrupt changes in global trade conditions,” Cheong said.
He further pledged continued policy support in close cooperation with local governments and free economic zones. In 2024, South Korea attracted a record high US$32.57 billion in FDI, the highest since records began in 1962, according to the ministry.
Despite global uncertainties, the ministry assessed that FDI has remained resilient this year, noting that South Korea secured $6.4 billion in commitments in the first quarter alone.
Meanwhile, acting President Han Duck-soo has said South Korea’s trade and security issues with the United States can be solved in a “rather non-conflicting way,” according to British newspaper The Economist.
In an interview with the outlet, Han spoke about the “one-stop shop” negotiations U.S. President Donald Trump has pursued with South Korea to simultaneously address trade and security issues.
“Through co-operative negotiations with the United States, we will be able to find some win-win solutions,” Han was quoted as saying in the interview, in an article published Sunday.
He added that South Korea is sure that any problems can be solved in a “rather non-conflicting way.”
On trade, Han said Trump’s tariffs on car and steel imports have been “very painful.” He also said the announcement — then 90-day suspension — of 25 percent “reciprocal” tariffs on South Korea was “shock therapy.”
Han discussed possible cooperation with the U.S. in constructing a gas pipeline in Alaska and reviving the country’s shipbuilding industry, telling the outlet the U.S. “should change” its legal framework governing the sector.
He also noted room for easing South Korea’s non-tariff barriers.
—IANS
na/
