Overview

• South Korea and the United States have begun working-level consultations to launch a bilateral visa working group, following two director-level meetings between their foreign ministries.
• Seoul set up an interagency task force with industry groups to collect company input and prepare reform proposals, including a potential new visa category and a dedicated consular desk for business travelers.
• Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said visa reforms are not a formal precondition for the $350 billion U.S. investment pledge, yet he intends to see problems resolved before substantive funds are deployed, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured reentry would not be an issue for affected workers.
• Trade negotiations tied to cutting U.S. tariffs from 25% to 15% remain bogged down over investment structure, profit-sharing and foreign-exchange risks, as Japan’s separate deal has already triggered a 15% auto tariff rate for Japanese vehicles.
• Seoul is opening a human-rights probe into conditions during the Georgia detentions of more than 300 Korean workers, while analysts such as Victor Cha say the episode may give Korea leverage as Washington moves quickly on visa talks.