Shouting Match Punctuated US-S. Korea Talks on $350 Bil. Fund
By Reuters | 01 Sep, 2025

US demand for more specifics on Korean investments in US manufacturing caused a conference call between Commerce Secretary Lutnick and Korean presidential adviser Kim Yong-beom to erupt at times into a shouting match.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the Oval Office, at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

South Korea and the United States had major disagreements over the details of the $350 billion fund agreed as part of a trade deal ahead of an August 25 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, a senior official in Seoul said on Monday. 

Presidential policy adviser Kim Yong-beom said the United States tried to use the summit to increase pressure on Seoul to produce documents on the details of the investments, a move which drew resistance from Seoul officials and sparked concerns over the outcome of the summit. 

"There were tense moments like yelling," he said during an interview livestreamed on a YouTube channel. He was apparently referring to a two-hour conference call he and other Korean officials had with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick the day before the summit.

He said the call was at one point "acrimonious" and he was worried that he would "screw up the summit".

He said the two sides differ over the structure of the fund, for example. South Korea has said direct investment would account for a small portion of the investments, which it said would largely consist of loans and guarantees. 

While the two sides remain wide apart over the issue, he said it was a successful summit that helped build personal relationships and trust between the two leaders. 

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Jihoon LeeEditing by Ros Russell)