Top officials depart for G-20 in Washington

Top government officials are leaving for Washington to attend the upcoming Group of 20 (G-20) meeting that is to be held later this week as well as meet with American policymakers to discuss trade.

Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon will head to Washington today for the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting that runs from Thursday to Friday, according to the ministry.

He will also participate in the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) conference to exchange views on a spate of pending issues, such as imbalance in global trade.

The minister will meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other key figures, such as World Bank Chief Jim Yong Kim.

During his stay in Washington, the finance minister will also meet the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s chief, Christine Lagarde, to discuss a variety of issues.

Kim said he will discuss the country’s currency market-related issues, such as how to reveal records of its market interventions, with the IMF chief.

The Korean commerce minister on Wednesday embarked on a week-long trip to the United States to meet American policymakers and business leaders as part of efforts to expand economic ties between the two nations, his office said.

Paik Un-gyu, minister of trade, industry and energy, made his first trip to the United States since taking office last year after the two nations agreed in principle on key issues to fix their six-year-old trade deal.

The agreement came against the backdrop of negotiations to get Korea off the list of countries that will be slapped with 25 percent tariffs on steel exports to the United States.

“His visit is aimed at strengthening economic relations with the U.S. as uncertainties in bilateral trade have eased following the tentative agreement in the steel duties and Korus FTA,” the ministry said in a release.

Paik will hold a roundtable talk with potential investors in New York on Wednesday and head to Washington on Thursday to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the ministry said.

Central bank Governor Lee Ju-yeol also left on Wednesday to visit the American capital to attend the G-20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors meeting on Thursday and Friday.

Yonhap