1. Minister for Trade Kim Jong-hoon visited Washington on May 18-19 and made keynote speeches 
at the International Trade Conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, at the Seminar 
hosted by the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) and at the Korea-U.S. Business 
Roundtable, and held discussions at the Korea-U.S. Trade Ministers Meeting and met with high 
officials of the U.S. Government.

2. On May 18, Minister Kim held the Korea-U.S. Trade Ministers Meeting with U.S. Trade 
Representative Ron Kirk and assessed the current trade situation between the two countries. 
Both sides also exchanged views on ways to advance the will of both Summits on the progress 
of the KORUS FTA. Both sides agreed to closely cooperate for the KORUS FTA to pass the U.S. 
Congress in the near future.

3. At the International Trade Conference held under the theme of Next Steps for the World Trade 
Agenda, Minister Kim made an address urging for the ratification of the KORUS FTA and had a time 
of Q&A with the participants.

 * About 200 participants were present at the Conference, including the U.S. Trade Representative, 
   the Chairman for the Lower House of Representatives of the U.S., the Trade Minister of Canada, 
   the WTO Under Secretary-General, trade experts and business representatives.

ㅇ On May 19, Minister Kim attended the Seminar hosted by WITA, a group of trade experts, as 
   the main speaker and explained about Korea’s FTA policy and the economic and strategic benefits
   of the KORUS FTA 
 
- In the afternoon, the Trade Minister attended the Korea-U.S. Business Roundtable for business 
  representatives of the two countries and made a keynote speech requesting for the support of 
  the business community on the ratification of the KORUS FTA at the U.S. Congress.

4. Furthermore, on the occasion of his visit, Minister Kim Deputy National Security Advisor for 
International Economic Affairs Michael Froman, Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee 
on Finance Max Baucus (Democrat, Montana), Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee 
on Finance Charles Grassley (Republican, Iowa), Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee 
on Ways and Means Sander Levin (Democrat, Michigan), Senator and President of the NATO 
Parliamentary Assembly John Tanner (Democrat, Tennessee) and various officials in charge of 
U.S. trade issues and exchanged views on the progress of the KORUS FTA.

5. Through this visit, it was revealed that due to the domestic situation of the U.S. with the 
upcoming mid-term elections in November, the conditions for the ratification of the KORUS FTA 
are not fully in place. Nevertheless, the Trade Minister’s visit is viewed a success in building a 
broader understanding with the U.S. Government on the need for a prompt ratification of the 
KORUS FTA. 

                    Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

*unofficial translation