Treasury Secretary Bessent Visits South Korea

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to visit South Korea next week for talks with senior officials in Seoul before heading to China. Bessent is likely to arrive in Seoul on Wednesday for a single-day visit. He will then proceed to China to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled for Thursday and Friday, according to diplomatic sources.

The secretary is expected to meet with Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol and other senior South Korean officials to discuss the foreign exchange market as well as a range of economic and financial issues of mutual interest.

Bessent has made dollar supremacy his top priority. The Iran war has undercut that goal. According to foreign media reports, Bessent is scheduled to make a three-day visit to Japan starting Monday. There he is expected to meet with officials and the central bank governor.

Finance chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. share the view that excessive volatility in the Korean won is not desirable. Bessent has said a South Korea-U.S. critical minerals framework was finalized. Top U.S. and Chinese officials have held talks ahead of the planned Trump-Xi summit.

>"Bessent says S. Korea-U.S. critical minerals framework finalized" — Yonhap, May 9, 2026 The visit occurs against a backdrop of ongoing diplomatic efforts to manage economic ties in the region even as geopolitical tensions from the Iran conflict ripple through currency and trade priorities.

Bessent attended a meeting with members of the Association of Mature American Citizens about financial literacy in Washington on April 29, 2026.