South Korean investments in US 'virtually impossible' if visa issue not resolved: Premier Kim

ISTANBUL

South Korea is seeking clarification from Washington regarding visa problems affecting Korean workers amid stalled negotiations on a $350 billion investment package.

In an interview with Bloomberg, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said on Thursday that without resolving the visa issue, “meaningful progress remains virtually impossible."

More than 300 Korean workers were detained in a raid at a Hyundai-LG Energy Solution battery plant construction site in Georgia earlier this month. The workers were released a week later.

"The detention incident dealt a severe blow not only to the general Korean public, but especially to the workers," said Kim.

Both the workers and their families are "understandably reluctant to enter the US again," while the matter remains unsolved, he said.

"Although the projects have not been entirely halted," or put on hold, "it will be very difficult for a large number of workers to enter or re-enter the US until this problem is resolved," Kim said.

In July, Seoul and Washington agreed in principle to a deal, under which the US reduced the tariff on imports from South Korea from 25% to 15% in exchange for Seoul’s commitment to invest $350 billion in the US.

However, the two sides are currently in a deadlock over how to structure the investment fund.

If the deal is not reached, South Korean imports could face higher tariffs of 25%.

Earlier this month, South Korea’s presidential office said it would not rush to sign the trade deal with the US that could undermine the interests of South Korean companies.

Seoul “cannot sign an agreement that would cause major losses to our companies just because of time pressure, it said, adding South Korea aims to conclude trade negotiations "at an early date" but would not accept terms that "cause serious harm" to the national interest.

Separately, the Korea Trade Commission on Thursday made a preliminary decision to recommend the Economy and Finance Ministry to impose between 21.17% and 43.6% anti-dumping tariffs on industrial robots from China and Japan after its initial investigation identified potential damage to the domestic industry, according to the Yonhap News Agency.