Choo Kyung-ho Meets Yellen: "Concerns Remain Over IRA Uncertainty... Requesting Cooperation"

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to convey concerns from our industries regarding U.S. trade policies.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo, who is visiting the United States to attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, exchanged views on current issues such as supply chain cooperation between Korea and the U.S. during a meeting with Secretary Yellen in Washington D.C. on the 13th (local time).

First, Deputy Prime Minister Choo expressed gratitude for the U.S. administration's consideration regarding the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS Act. However, he conveyed concerns from our industries about the remaining uncertainties in the related regulations and requested continued attention and cooperation on this matter. He also noted the significance of President Yoon Suk-yeol's upcoming state visit scheduled for the 26th, marking the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance, and proposed maintaining continuous communication between the finance ministries of both countries.

On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Choo also met with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner and exchanged views on cooperation measures between the two countries, including trade policies. Deputy Prime Minister Choo requested, "Like Germany, Korea is a country that has achieved economic development based on manufacturing and grown through foreign trade, and we hope to continue economic cooperation with Germany, which shares a similar economic background." He emphasized the importance of ensuring no discrimination against non-EU companies concerning the European Union's (EU) ongoing initiatives such as the Critical Raw Materials Act, Carbon Neutral Industry Act, and Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

Subsequently, Deputy Prime Minister Choo met with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to sign the '3rd Korea-IMF Technical Cooperation Fund' contribution agreement. The Technical Cooperation Fund is a trust fund established by the IMF in 2013 to support technology assistance for low-income countries. Korea has supported a total of $36 million, including $16 million for the 1st phase (2013?2017) and $20 million for the 2nd phase (2018?2022). The 3rd phase (2023?2027) aims to provide approximately $25 million in support over five years.

After the signing ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Choo exchanged views with Managing Director Georgieva on global economic trends amid recent financial market instability and high inflation. In particular, Deputy Prime Minister Choo requested attention and support to enable more outstanding Korean talents to advance to senior positions within the IMF. He also invited Managing Director Georgieva to visit Korea for the Korea-IMF joint conference scheduled to be held later this year.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo also met with Roberto Scipione-Ar?valo, Global Head of Sovereign Ratings at the international credit rating agency S&P. During the meeting, S&P inquired about Korea's employment situation, the impact of the U.S. IRA, and the status of real estate project financing (PF) loans. Deputy Prime Minister Choo explained that Korea's employment situation has improved compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, supported by strong employment in the service sector, resulting in the unemployment rate dropping from the pre-pandemic 3-4% range to a record low of 2.9% in March.

Regarding the IRA, he stated that as a result of joint government-industry responses, many of Korea's requests were reflected in detailed guidance, minimizing negative impacts on the automobile and battery industries. Concerning real estate PF, while some concerns remain, the overall situation is stable and manageable.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Choo met with Makhta Diop, CEO of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank Group, to sign a contribution agreement for the Korea Green Recovery Innovation Fund (K-GRID) and agreed to expand cooperation in climate response and digital sectors. Deputy Prime Minister Choo said, "The Korean government and IFC have maintained a strong cooperative relationship, and at this time when the importance of climate response, energy, and food security is increasing, the establishment of this trust fund will serve as an opportunity to further strengthen cooperation between the two institutions."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, who is visiting Washington D.C., USA to attend the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting and the IMF and WB Spring Meetings, is meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the 13th (local time).

On the 12th (local time), Deputy Prime Minister Choo attended the World Bank Development Committee and discussed medium- to long-term development plans, including its mission and roles. He assessed, "The importance of international development cooperation is increasing to respond to global crisis factors that threaten the survival of developing countries across borders, such as recent climate change and pandemics."

He further proposed, "In particular, the World Bank should play a greater role in poverty reduction, shared prosperity, and enhancing the resilience of developing countries. To this end, it is necessary to improve operational models through discovering country-specific tailored operation and support models and to strengthen the international community's response capacity by expanding support capabilities through optimizing financial structures."

Additionally, as Korea is a representative country with abundant development and growth experience and know-how, having transitioned from one of the poorest countries after the war to a donor country, he requested attention to the international conference scheduled to be held in Seoul in May to mark the 60th anniversary of the economic development plan and to the Korean Innovation Report to be published by the World Bank, so that developing countries can refer to Korea's experience to escape the middle-income trap.

During the two-day G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting on the 12th and 13th, Deputy Prime Minister Choo stated, "The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which plays a key role in strengthening the global financial safety net, must maintain sufficient lending capacity." He emphasized the need to restructure debts of low-income countries and fundamentally increase resources for multilateral development banks (MDBs) to enhance support capabilities for vulnerable countries.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo agreed with member countries on the importance of multilateral cooperation for the swift resolution of vulnerable countries' debts and the necessity to complete the 16th IMF quota general review within the deadline to sufficiently expand the global financial safety net. He also raised the need for tangible achievements in accelerating responses to the climate crisis. Deputy Prime Minister Choo explained Korea's case, including interest in replenishing the Green Climate Fund, launched in Songdo in 2013, the establishment of a dedicated fund supporting green industries for small and medium enterprises to promote private finance, and reducing the interest burden on green bonds.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.