South Korea appoints ex-trade chief Yeo Han-koo as new trade minister

South Korea appointed former chief trade envoy Yeo Han-koo as its top trade negotiator, the president's office said on Tuesday, as Asia's fourth largest economy prepares for negotiations with Washington to reduce the tariffs.

The U.S. imposed 25% levies on South Korea on April 2, one of the highest tariffs for a U.S. ally, though they have been suspended until early July. Cutting tariffs is a top policy priority for South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung after a leadership vacuum in recent months helped delay talks between Seoul and Washington.

The president also appointed statistics agency chief Lee Hyoung-il as first vice finance minister to lead the ministry until a finance minister is formally appointed, Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.

Sectoral tariffs have hurt South Korea's key industries including cars, aluminium and steel.

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Yeo was trade chief between August 2021 and early 2022 during left-leaning President Moon Jae-in's administration and was involved in Korea-U.S. talks under the first Trump administration.

While serving as commercial attache at the Korean Embassy in Washington, he was involved in amendment negotiations of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and Section 232 steel negotiations in 2017.

For the past two years Yeo has been a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.