Rep. Park Soo-young of the main opposition People Power Party, left, and Rep. Huh Young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea shake hands at a subcommittee meeting of a special parliamentary committee dedicated to advancing a special U.S. investment bill at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

The ruling Democratic Party Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) agreed Thursday to establish a new state-run entity specialized in implementing South Korea's investment package for the United States, officials said.

The agreement came a day after the rival parties said they were expected to pass a special U.S. investment bill without delay on March 12 under a bilateral trade deal with Washington.

With a paid-in capital of 2 trillion won ($1.36 billion), the South Korean government will fully finance the new entity, lawmakers said.

During a subcommittee meeting of a special parliamentary committee dedicated to advancing legislation on South Korea's $350 billion investment pledge to the U.S., the two parties agreed to establish the special corporation with a total workforce of up to 50 employees.

"After discussions on whether to entrust the task to the Korea Investment Corporation or establish a new corporation, we agreed to create a new corporation at a minimal scale," PPP Rep. Park Soo-young told reporters after the meeting.

The corporation will have three members on the board of directors who will be required to have at least 10 years of experience in the financial sector or strategic industries to prevent crony appointments.

The PPP earlier called for setting up a fund under the Ministry of Finance and Economy to oversee the investment, citing substantial costs in setting up a new entity. The DPK has stressed the need to create a dedicated investment corporation to better support Seoul's investment plans in the U.S.

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to raise reciprocal tariffs on South Korean goods back to 25 percent from 15 percent, citing a delay in Seoul's legislative process needed to move the trade deal forward.

Source: Korea Times News