South Korea, US reach an agreement over foreign exchange deal, Seoul says

SEOUL: South Korea and the United States have reached a foreign exchange agreement and plan to announce the deal soon, South Korean Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said.

AI Brief

South Korea wants a foreign exchange swap to help fund a US$350 billion investment tied to tariff negotiations with the US.
US officials have not confirmed any deal yet, and discussions are ongoing with no clear outcome.
South Korea warns of economic risks if it agrees to US demands without financial safeguards.

Speaking to reporters at Incheon International Airport on Saturday night, Koo did not elaborate on the deal.

Yonhap news agency, citing an unnamed finance ministry official, said it is not related to talks on a currency swap as part of bilateral negotiations over President Donald Trump's tariffs on South Korean goods.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday in New York that the Asian country needs a foreign exchange swap in order to make the US$350 billion investment it has pledged to its ally in the tariff talks, Koo said.

Koo quoted Bessent as saying he would discuss the issue with other U.S. officials and get back to South Korea.

South Korean National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac reiterated on Saturday that Seoul cannot pay the US$350 billion "upfront", as Trump has suggested in recent days. President Lee told Reuters this month that South Korea's economy could fall into crisis rivalling its 1997 meltdown if the government accepted the U.S. demands without safeguards.

Koo said he had not heard of anything about a Wall Street Journal report that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had discussed raising the US$350 billion investment.