In this file photo, Joseph Yun, acting U.S. ambassador to Seoul, gives a commemorative speech at the Hyatt Hotel in Seoul’s Yongsan district in celebration of the United State’s Independence Day on July 2, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will visit HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co.’s shipyard with Joseph Yun, the acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea, this week to explore ways to expand bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding sector, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.
Cho and Yun plan to visit the shipyard in Ulsan, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Wednesday to inspect its major facilities and discuss ways to expand cooperation in the shipbuilding industry, ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong told reporters.
“(They) plan to seek opportunities to expand bilateral cooperation in the shipbuilding sector and discuss support measures for local shipbuilding industries,” Lee said in a briefing.
The visit comes ahead of President Lee Jae Myung’s first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 25, where Seoul’s shipbuilding cooperation initiative is expected to be on the agenda.
The initiative, dubbed “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again,” includes a US$150 billion investment by South Korea in the U.S. shipbuilding industry, which aligns with the Trump administration’s push to revive America’s shipbuilding capacity and better compete with China.
It is part of a $350 billion investment package Seoul pledged in exchange for the U.S. reducing its reciprocal tariff rate on South Korean goods to 15 percent from the initial 25 percent.
The project includes constructing new shipyards in the U.S., nurturing shipbuilding personnel and reestablishing related supply chains as well as building American ships and cooperating on maintenance, repair and overhaul projects.
(Yonhap)
