Minister Ahn Deok-geun's visit to the U.S. "Discussion on cooperation in the shipbuilding industry"

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Deok-geun, who is visiting the U.S. ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, said he plans to discuss ways to cooperate in the shipbuilding sector between South Korea and the U.S.

Minister Ahn, who arrived in Washington, D.C., on the 7th local time following his visit to Georgia, told reporters that he will stay in Washington until the 10th to meet with members of the Senate and House of Representatives from areas where investment from our companies is concentrated.

Ahn plans to visit Senator Todd Young, a Republican who proposed the Shipbuilding and Port Facilities Act for the Prosperity and Security of the U.S., in December last year to discuss ways to cooperate with the South Korea-U.S. shipbuilding industry.

The bill is intended to strengthen the shipbuilding industry to get ahead of the strategic competition with China, paving the way for U.S. ships used in trade to be repaired tax-free in South Korea when the bill is passed.

Earlier, Trump said in a phone call with President Yoon Suk Yeol shortly after his victory in last year's presidential election that South Korea needed help in the U.S. shipbuilding industry, and on the 6th, he mentioned that the U.S. Navy and allies could be used to rebuild the shipbuilding industry.