The United States and South Korea have reached a broad trade agreement, both countries said following talks between their leaders.
South Korean presidential aide Kim Yong-beom said the two sides had agreed to keep reciprocal tariffs at 15%, but that taxes on cars and auto parts would be reduced.
South Korea is also investing $350 billion in the United States, including $200 billion in cash investments and $150 billion in shipbuilding, Kim said.
US President Donald Trump, who is currently on a week-long trip to Asia, said the deal was “pretty much done” at the dinner after discussions that lasted nearly two hours. He did not provide further details.
A trade deal was announced at the end of July that would see South Korea avoid the worst of the tariffs by sending $350bn (£264bn) of new investment into America. However, negotiations on the structure of these investments have stalled.
The two countries have historically been key allies, but tensions have risen since hundreds of South Koreans were detained in a US immigration raid last month.
Trump will next meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju.
China's Foreign Ministry confirmed the meeting will take place in the city of Busan on Thursday, near Gyeongju.
It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Trump took office in 2025 and imposed tariffs on countries around the world.
Speaking to a group of corporate executives in Gyeongju on Wednesday, Trump said he believes the US is “going to make a deal” with China and it will be a “win-win deal for both of us.”
He also praised APEC countries for making the global trading system, which he said was “broken” and “urgently in need of reform,” fairer.
“Economic security is national security,” Trump says. “This is for South Korea, this is for any country.”
Golden crowns and great orders
Ahead of his talks with President Lee on Wednesday, Trump was greeted by a guard of honor and gifts, including a gold crown.
“I wish I could wear it right now,” Trump said of the crown.
He also received the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, South Korea's highest honor.
He became the first US president to receive the award, which was given “in recognition of his contributions to peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the South Korean presidential office said.
Both leaders attended a working lunch followed by a private meeting in the afternoon, although no concrete agreement appears to have emerged.
Both sides had previously downplayed the prospect of a breakthrough in the talks – a fact that will disappoint many in South Korea's electronics, chip and auto industries who had been hoping for some clarity amid the tariff chaos.
Neither Washington nor Seoul released any further details about the outcome of the talks.
Earlier this year, Trump set Seoul's tariff rate at 25%, which Lee managed to lower to 15% after Seoul said it would invest $350 billion in the US and buy $100 billion of liquefied natural gas.
But the White House later increased its demands as part of trade negotiations, and Trump insisted on cash investment in the United States.
The US President was presented with a gold crown and the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, South Korea's highest award. [Reuters]
Trump's visit to South Korea was preceded by North Korea testing surface-to-air cruise missiles.
The US president has expressed interest in meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but noted on Wednesday that his team was unable to arrange it during his trip.
Noting longstanding tensions between North and South Korea, Trump said, “We'll see what we can do to work this out.”
And near the summit site where both leaders met, a small group of anti-Trump protesters gathered Wednesday afternoon, some chanting anti-Trump slogans. Police were seen forcefully dispersing the crowd and arresting some people.
But hundreds more people attended the pro-Trump rally, including some shouting anti-China rhetoric, and it was also held close to the summit site.
Anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea has also grown steadily in recent years. Chinese interference has become a common feature in conspiracy theories about former South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol.
During his trip to Japan on Tuesday, US President signed an agreement on rare earth minerals with Tokyo, as well as a document proclaiming a new “golden age” of US-Japanese relations. This reaffirmed the two countries' commitment to implementing previous agreements, including the 15% tariff agreement reached earlier this year.
Previously, he attended a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders, known as ASEAN, in Malaysia. Here he is presided over the “peace agreement” between Thailand and Cambodia, whose long-running border dispute escalated into open conflict in July.
With additional reporting by Laura Beeker, China correspondent, and Suranjana Tewari, Asia business correspondent.
