(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Chang-yong = Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan visited the United States for three days on the 10th (local time) to finalize the investment project in the United States.
Minister Kim entered the country through an airport near New York instead of Washington, D.C., the usual negotiation stage.
There is an interpretation that Minister Kim's visit to New York rather than Washington DC is related to the schedule of his counterpart, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Rutnick.
Minister Rutnick, a former CEO of the investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, lost about 600 of his company's executives and employees, including his own brother Gary, at once during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Since then, it has been reported that he has attended a memorial event in New York on September 11th every year.
Minister Kim was also in New York on September 11 last year, when tariff negotiations between Korea and the United States reached their worst deadlock.
At that time, the negotiations were in a major crisis phase. There was a large difference of opinion over the investment destination and profit distribution of the $350 billion that Korea decided to invest in the United States. High-ranking officials, including U.S. President Donald Trump, publicly expressed their discomfort. As working-level meetings were not even conducted properly, the possibility of a breakdown in negotiations was even mentioned.
Minister Kim solved the clue through the personal history he learned while meeting Minister Rutnick several times.
He expressed his intention to attend the 9/11 memorial service that Minister Rutnick attends every year.
Minister Rutnick accepted Minister Kim's suggestion that "I will not talk about negotiations and will only attend the memorial service." Minister Kim was the first outsider to attend Minister Rutnick's memorial service.
Minister Rutnick has been known for his harsh language and aggressive negotiation style since his days on Wall Street, but he opened his heart to Minister Kim's sincere consolation.
The day after the service, Minister Rutnick contacted me asking to meet first, and it was known that this was the turning point that ultimately changed the flow of negotiations.
This visit to New York, which took place again after a year, also coincided with a critical juncture in investment negotiations with the United States.
In this negotiation, detailed conditions, including the specific investment destination and final investment size, as well as the method of investing funds and distribution of profits and risks, must be coordinated. The construction of the $22 billion Encinal gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Texas is being considered as the first project. Follow-up projects include the construction of eight large nuclear power plants and the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project.
Unlike last year, when only the broad framework was agreed upon, this time detailed conditions for actual project execution must be finalized. Moreover, it is assessed that the conditions for negotiations have become more complex as security issues such as the Trump administration's 'political' pressure and deployment of troops are intertwined ahead of the US midterm elections in November.
Jang Sang-sik, director of the International Trade Research Institute of the Korea International Trade Association, said, "Negotiations between countries are different from general business transactions, so there are more than one factor to consider. Rather than focusing only on profitability and investment safety, we need to broaden our horizons to other areas such as security and supply chain and engage in 'give and take' in a larger framework to find common ground."
However, during this visit to the United States, it has not been officially confirmed whether Minister Kim will attend the 9/11 memorial ceremony or the schedule of the meeting with Minister Rutnick.
Minister Kim met with reporters immediately after arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport near New York, USA and said, "I came here to conclude the ongoing investment negotiations with the United States." When asked about the possibility of a final agreement, he answered, "I think negotiations are in progress until signing."
