Kang Kyung-wha, South Korea's Ambassador to the United States, who returned home temporarily for consultations on Korea-US relations, said on the 15th that the Coupang issue is "an issue lasting far longer than expected."
Kang made the remarks while meeting with reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building ahead of a meeting with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun. "While managing the Coupang issue on its own terms, we are continuing consultations at various levels to make progress on the joint fact sheet and the various matters agreed upon by the leaders of both countries," Kang said.
Asked whether there was pressure from the United States to accelerate the pace of investment in the US, she explained, "The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the (US) Department of Commerce are continuing consultations," adding, "As we try to identify projects that meet commercial rationality, I think there needs to be a bit more discussion."
At the request of Minister Cho, Kang will stay in Korea for five days from the 15th through the 19th to continue discussions with relevant ministries on pending Korea-US issues. Explaining the reason for her return, Kang said, "The relationship between Korea and the US is so tightly interwoven and there are many issues," adding, "Overall, those in Washington, D.C. and those at the (Foreign Ministry) headquarters have a different sense of the situation on the ground, so I came (to Korea) to hear the headquarters' thinking and to convey the sense of the situation on the ground."
