Financial expert tapped as new top negotiator for defense talks

The foreign ministry said Thursday it had appointed a former career finance ministry official as the new chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing talks with the United States.

Jeong Eun-bo, who served as vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission and has had a long career at the ministry, will lead the South Korean team to negotiate a new Special Measures Agreement (SMA).

The pact between Seoul and Washington stipulates how much South Korea should contribute toward the cost of stationing of 28,500 U.S. soldiers here. The current deal is set to expire Dec. 31.

Jeong is the first South Korean official selected from the financial realm to represent the country in the cost-sharing negotiations.

He will replace Chang Wonsam, who negotiated the current deal and represented Seoul during this week’s first round of negotiations, as the government has been in the process of selecting his successor.

James DeHart, a former charge d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Norway, led the U.S. delegation.

The U.S. has demanded Seoul pay more for the presence of the United States Forces Korea — under this year’s SMA, the government Korea agreed to pay 1.04 trillion won (US$867 million), an increase of 8.2 percent from 2017.

Wrapping up the first round of the talks Wednesday, the two sides agreed to work toward a “reasonable and fair” sharing of the cost, according to the foreign ministry.