US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will hold a business roundtable with leaders of major South Korean and American companies in the southeastern city of Gyeongju on Wednesday for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering, Seoul officials said.
The roundtable event will be held at the Gyeongju Arts Center later in the day on the sidelines of the planned summit between President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump, the officials said, while noting the schedule may change.
The event is expected to be attended by Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, as well as Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan.
A number of US business figures currently visiting Gyeongju for the APEC CEO Summit, such as Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman, will also likely attend the event.
The participants are widely expected to discuss industrial cooperation as Seoul has pledged to invest a combined $350 billion in the United States for collaboration in various sectors, including shipbuilding, semiconductors and batteries, as part of a framework trade deal between the two countries in late July.
Eyes are on whether the two countries will be able to finalize their bilateral trade agreement at the Lee-Trump summit later in the day, with the two countries still sparing over the details of the investment package, such as financing methods and profit allocation.
Korea and the US hosted a similar event in Washington in August also as a sideline event of the Lee-Trump summit. (Yonhap)
