FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers are seen at Pyeongtaek port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

By Yena Park and Jihoon Lee

SEJONG, South Korea (Reuters) - South Korea will take into account Japan's trade agreement with the U.S. as a reference as it negotiates final details of its own trade deal and pins down details on a pledged $350 billion investment package, the finance minister said on Monday.

"There are pros and cons for us. What is positive is that because we know the outcome of Japan's negotiations, we can negotiate with the U.S. based on it," Minister Koo Yun-cheol told a press conference.

Separately, South Korea's foreign minister said Seoul would not accept the same terms agreed in Japan's deal, which also includes a $550 billion package.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order implementing Japan's trade deal last week, but South Korea is yet to reach a written agreement on the deal struck in July between its team led by Koo and the U.S. leader.

The Japanese deal lowering U.S. tariffs on imports of its cars to 15% from 25% has put South Korean automakers, which still face 25%, at a competitive disadvantage.

"We will consult with the U.S. in a way that meets the national interest as much as possible," Koo said.

South Korea and the U.S. were negotiating on details of a $350 billion investment package included in the deal and Seoul would seek ways to launch various investment projects in the U.S. in an effective manner, he said.

Seoul was also in talks with the U.S. over foreign exchange policy, which will be included when the two sides announce the results after trade negotiations conclude, Koo said.

In a parliamentary session on Monday, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Seoul's trade negotiations were being delayed because it was taking a tough stance on U.S. demands regarding the investment package and said similar terms would cause problems.

"If you look at the agreement between the U.S. and Japan, you will understand why our government is delaying negotiations," he said, without elaborating.

Japan's trade deal with the U.S. was struck under the terms that available free cash flows from its $550 billion investment package would be split in half until reaching an allocated amount and then 90% would go to the United States.

Last week, Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to swiftly hear a bid to preserve his sweeping tariffs pursued under a 1977 law meant for emergencies, after a lower court invalidated most of the levies that have been central to the Republican president's economic and trade agenda.

Koo said authorities were taking into account every possible scenario, but said it remained "more pressing than ever" to respond to various external changes, such as tariffs.

He vowed to prepare new strategies by October to respond to fundamental changes in the global trade order.

(Reporting by Yena Park, Jihoon Lee and Joyce Lee; Editing by Kim Coghill, Ed Davies)