U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to the Indo-Pacific region ended with a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol in Seoul.
In addition, Janet Yellen was also reported to have met with the Governor of the Bank of Korea, Rhee Chang-Yong and the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Choo Kyung-Ho in strengthening bilateral relations between the countries.
According to the Treasury Department, the contents of the meeting between Yellen and several influential individuals discussed the limits of Russian oil prices as well as efforts in addressing supply chain issues through friendshoring*.
*Friendshoring is a proposal Yellen put forward earlier as a way to protect the global supply chain from external disruptions or economic pressures. The basic idea is for a group of countries with shared values to implement a policy of encouraging companies to increase manufacturing.
The department added that the US sees South Korea as a reliable trading and economic partner.
In a speech, Yellen explained that relations with South Korea are important in building a more resilient supply chain and in turn reducing inflationary pressures as well as lowering consumer costs.
During the visit, Yellen also met with South Korea's leading women economists and entrepreneurs to discuss the participation of the women's labor force in economic growth.
He also took the opportunity to visit the facility of LG Corp., South Korea’s largest company, which recently built an investment relationship in the manufacture of electric vehicle (EV) batteries in the US.
For the record, Yellen's visit was part of her plans before arriving in Indonesia for a Group 20 meeting that brought together financial officials from the world's 20 largest economies.
