South Korea's Lee says commercial viability a sticking point in US investment talks

South ‌Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday that concerns over the commercial viability of a planned US investment package under its trade deal with Washington had become a sticking point in negotiations, although the two sides were nearing ‌an agreement. Lee told a news conference some elements of the package were difficult for Seoul to accept, ‌but said the government would continue discussions to ensure any deal protects South Korea's interests while benefiting both countries and the broader US-South Korea relationship.

The allies have continued negotiations on implementing a trade deal struck last year, under which Seoul committed to invest $350 billion in ⁠US manufacturing ​in return for lowering tariffs ⁠on Korean imports to 15%. Lee said Seoul had insisted on including a reference to "commercially reasonable" investments in the text of the agreement.

As ⁠negotiators moved to hammer out details of specific investment projects, questions about commercial viability emerged as a point of contention, ​alongside questions over how the sides would recoup returns, share profits and handle projects that ran at a ⁠loss, Lee said. "We are engaged in intense discussions and consultations to structure this business in a way that doesn't harm South Korea's national ⁠interests, ​while benefiting both South Korea and the United States," Lee said.

Asked how Seoul planned to balance US pressure on South Korean firms to expand chip manufacturing in the United States against its own domestic semiconductor ⁠investments, Lee noted Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix were already building chip factories in the United States. How far that ⁠expansion would go would ⁠depend partly on corporate management decisions and partly on South Korea's industrial strategy, Lee said.

Seoul would seek a "reasonable conclusion" on chip investments that protected national interests while respecting the ‌views of businesses, ‌he said.