S Korea foreign minister denies Seoul delaying US investments

South Korea foreign minister denies Seoul delaying US investments, Yonhap says

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun at the State Department in Washington, DC, US, Feb 3, 2026. REUTERS

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Seoul is not intentionally delaying the legislation of a special bill on US investments under last year's trade deal with Washington, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington on Thursday, Cho also conveyed to Rubio at a meeting this week that South Korea had a strong willingness to fulfill a pledge to invest $350 billion in key US industries agreed as part of the deal, Yonhap reported.

Rubio told him that the mood in Washington over South Korea's commitment to implement the deal was "not favourable", Yonhap quoted Cho as saying.

On Wednesday, South Korean lawmakers said they would finalise legislation by March 9 to enable the investments to go ahead, after US President Donald Trump threatened to hike tariffs on Korean goods, blaming Seoul's delay in enacting the deal.