Korea's industry minister meets Lutnick to discuss U.S. tariff hikes, no consensus reached yet
Published: 30 Jan. 2026, 09:30
![Kim Jung-kwan, Korea’s industry minister, arrives in the United States via the Washington Dulles International Airport on Jan. 28. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/30/7828a58d-a742-4394-be56-a7945f06e73f.jpg)
Kim Jung-kwan, Korea’s industry minister, arrives in the United States via the Washington Dulles International Airport on Jan. 28. [YONHAP]
Korea’s Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan met with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in Washington on Thursday to address the Trump administration’s threat to impose higher tariffs, but the two sides did not immediately reach a consensus.
Kim arrived at the U.S. Department of Commerce headquarters around 5 p.m. and left the building at 6:24 p.m. after his discussion with Lutnick.
“We discussed many issues and agreed to meet again tomorrow morning,” Kim told reporters. “No conclusion has been reached yet.”
When asked whether he had succeeded in stopping the U.S. tariff increase, Kim said, “It’s not a matter of whether we stopped it or not.”
He also said they did not get into discussing the timing of an official notice in the Federal Register.
During the talks, Kim emphasized Korea’s clear commitment to implementing the agreed U.S. investment obligations and urged Washington not to follow through with tariff hikes.
Upon arriving in Washington the previous day, Kim told reporters at the airport that he intended to “clearly explain the progress of Korea’s domestic legislation to avoid misunderstandings” and “reiterate that there has been no change in the Korean government’s position regarding cooperation and investment with the United States.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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