*

Seoul officials in all-out push to secure trade deal

before

deadline

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South Korea to propose package including cooperation in

shipbuilding at Washington meeting, fin min

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Lutnick says Seoul "really wants to get a deal" after

officials

met him in Scotland

(Adds context on shipbuilding and minister-level meetings in

paragraphs 2-4, 10-11)

By Jihoon Lee

SEOUL, July 29 (Reuters) - South Korean Finance Minister

Koo Yun-cheol said on Tuesday he would seek a mutually

beneficial trade deal when he meets U.S. Treasury Secretary

Scott Bessent for talks this week, just days before an August 1

deadline expires to avoid punishing tariffs.

Speaking at the airport before departing for Washington, Koo

said he would propose at Thursday's meeting a "programme" South

Korea had prepared and consult on areas where they could

cooperate in the mid-to-long term, such as shipbuilding.

South Korea's Hanwha Group, parent of shipbuilder Hanwha

Ocean, had submitted a major investment plan to

government officials, according to two people familiar with the

matter.

The plan included expanding its recently acquired Philly

Shipyard ( AKRRF ) in the state of Pennsylvania and involved Hanwha Group

and some of its affiliates, said the sources, who asked not to

be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Hanwha Group's Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan also flew to

Washington to support trade negotiations, local media reported.

Seoul officials are scrambling in an all-out push to clinch

a trade deal ahead of the August 1 deadline to remove or reduce

tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump against the

country's key industrial exports to the United States.

Koo's plan to travel to Washington last week for talks with

Bessent was postponed due to the U.S. treasury chief's

scheduling conflict.

"Treasury Secretary Bessent holds the important position of

overseeing trade negotiations in the Trump administration," Koo

said in brief remarks to reporters.

"We will make the best effort to derive an agreement based

on our national interest that would allow South Korea and the

United States to co-exist," he said.

Koo said he would be joining Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan

and Minister for Trade Yeo Han-koo who have been holding talks

in Washington with U.S. officials including Commerce Secretary

Howard Lutnick for an "all-out response."

Lutnick said in an interview with Fox News on Monday that

South Korean officials had flown to Scotland to meet with him.

"Think of how much they really, really want to get a

deal done," he said.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will also visit Washington this

week for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio,

following a visit to Japan on Tuesday to meet his counterpart.