Gyeongju: With only seven days remaining until the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, attention is focused on whether South Korea and the United States could finalize an official tariff deal at the two-day event. The countries are making efforts to resolve differences over Seoul’s US$350 billion investment commitment to Washington.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the 2025 APEC summit is scheduled to take place in Gyeongju from next Friday. A summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump is also expected. The main focus is on whether the two sides can finalize their trade agreement before the summit, a deal that would impact the Korean economy, which relies heavily on exports.

On Wednesday, South Korea’s presidential chief of staff for policy, Kim Yong-beom, and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan traveled to Washington for follow-up tariff negotiations with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. This visit comes less than a week after their previous return from the U.S. capital. They returned home early Friday, marking the last face-to-face high-level trade talks before the upcoming APEC summit.

The two countries have been working to resolve differences over the details of the proposed $350 billion investment package, including financing methods and profit allocation. On July 30, Seoul and Washington reached a framework agreement. The U.S. agreed to lower the reciprocal tariff for South Korea to 15 percent from 25 percent in exchange for Korea’s $350 billion investment in the U.S. This agreement also includes increased cooperation in industries such as shipbuilding, semiconductors, and batteries.

Trump stated that the investment would be made “upfront,” while Seoul officials argued that the investment pledge was intended to finance projects rather than a cash payment. They called for financial safeguards, such as a currency swap arrangement. After months of follow-up talks, the presidential policy chief noted this week that the two countries have made progress on most issues.

The biggest sticking point in ongoing trade negotiations appears to be the scale of direct investment by South Korea and the timing of the investment. Seoul officials recently stated that the U.S. administration has shown signs of softening its stance on its demand for an upfront cash investment of $350 billion.

The Korean government has proposed making installments for the $350 billion investment over 10 years to reduce the burden on its foreign exchange reserve. The country can use up to $20 billion from the reserve in a single year.

The upcoming APEC summit also garners attention with the planned attendance of global business tycoons, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman, Google’s Chief Marketing Officer for Asia Pacific Simon Kahn, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, and Johnson and Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato.

These global figures are scheduled to participate in the APEC CEO Summit, hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) from Tuesday to Friday. They will likely be joined by top local business leaders, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Samsung Electronics Co. Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, and LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo. Industry sources suggest that SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman may also visit Gyeongju for the event.

“If the APEC summit is a historic event signaling the restoration of democracy in Korea, the APEC CEO Summit will serve as a grand showcase demonstrating the resilience and strength of the Korean economy,” said SK Group Chairman Chey, who also serves as the head of the KCCI.

Next week, several other APEC-related business events will take place in Gyeongju and other parts of the country to showcase local companies’ technological competitiveness and promote Korea’s exports. Planned events include a future-tech forum on industries such as shipbuilding, defense, AI, and energy, as well as an export promotion event.

The KCCI estimated that this year’s APEC summit would generate an economic value of 7.4 trillion won ($5.14 billion) and help create 22,000 jobs.