The business council speech was released only as a summary, with no meeting remarks or U.S. response

President Lee Jae-myung shaking hands with a U.S.-Korea Business Council official on October 15, 2026. Source: President Lee Jae-myung's official X.

The 36th U.S.-Korea Business Council general meeting was held at FKI Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, on October 15. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun gave a keynote speech at the luncheon. The full text of the speech was not released. Only a Ministry of Foreign Affairs summary was released. President Lee Jae-myung met Evan Greenberg, chairman of the council, the same day. Remarks exchanged at the meeting were not released. The presidential office did not release them.

The ministry posted the speech on its official X account the same day. https://x.com/mofa_kr/status/2110916135172338168

Lee posted the meeting on his own X account. https://x.com/Jaemyung_Lee/status/2110668889898315878

The president's post contains a sentence about a Korean War veteran and the 4th chairman of the council. That sentence is cut off in the X preview. The released scope is the fact of the meeting and the president's description of the council's role. Specific remarks from the meeting are not in the post.

The confirmed schedules are dated. Cho held a breakfast meeting on October 14 with U.S. Representative Marilyn Strickland, a Democrat from Washington. They discussed South Korea-U.S. relations, peace on the Korean Peninsula and the regional situation, the ministry said.

Cho spoke by telephone the same day with Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. They discussed bilateral relations, South Korea-ASEAN relations and the Korean Peninsula situation, the ministry said. https://x.com/mofa_kr/status/2110581434184573086

First Vice Minister Park Yoon-joo held the 2nd South Korea-Thailand Strategic Dialogue in Bangkok on October 14 with Thai Permanent Secretary Exsiri Pintaruchi, the ministry said. https://x.com/mofa_kr/status/2110588980978929737

Cho met Adut Salva Kiir Mayardit, a special envoy of the president of South Sudan, on the morning of October 14. They discussed bilateral relations, the ministry's Open Minister's Office said. Ambassador for International Cyber Cooperation Park Young-hyo attended Singapore International Cyber Week from October 13 to 15, the ministry said.

Cho's remarks are in the ministry summary. Cho said he would further develop the "irreplaceable South Korea-U.S. alliance" covering economy, technology and security, the ministry said. Cho said President Lee's national vision of an "irreplaceable Republic of Korea" shows the strategic value of South Korea-U.S. relations, the ministry said. Cho said South Korea, with capabilities in semiconductors, batteries, nuclear power and shipbuilding, is an indispensable partner for the U.S. manufacturing base and supply chains, the ministry said. He said the alliance has developed into an irreplaceable alliance as a core axis of both countries' prosperity, the ministry said.

Cho called the South Korea-U.S. strategic investment project a "historic milestone," reports citing ministry materials said. He said consultations would be hurried for practical results in shipbuilding and nuclear power, the reports said. He said he would communicate more actively with the business communities of both countries, including the council, the ministry said.

The president's account is limited to his post. Lee wrote that the council has served as a bridge for companies of both countries to communicate and build trust. Specific economic and trade content discussed with Greenberg is not in the post. The presidential office did not separately release remarks from the meeting.

Lee met President Trump on September 22 local time. Lee wrote on his X account that he met Trump again after a little over two months since Ankara in July and that the common will to develop the alliance was reaffirmed. The White House had issued no announcement on the meeting as of 11:00 on October 17, 2026.

No response from the other side was released. No political party had issued an official comment on the keynote speech as of 11:00 on October 17, 2026. No party had issued an official comment on the president's meeting. The U.S. government issued no separate announcement on the meeting. The White House and the State Department issued no announcement.

The full text of the keynote speech was not released. Remarks from the president's meeting were not released. The list of companies attending the general meeting was not released. The ministry has not announced the next South Korea-U.S. high-level schedule. On the defense side, this year's SCM is scheduled as the next high-level meeting, but its date has not been announced. SCM is the Security Consultative Meeting.

Based on the ministry's official X account, five minister-level, vice-minister-level and ambassador-level schedules were released from October 14 to 16. They cover the keynote speech, the Strickland meeting, the Singapore foreign minister call, the South Korea-Thailand Strategic Dialogue and Singapore International Cyber Week. Two were related to the United States. Three were related to ASEAN. The reference date is October 16. With Open Minister's Office posts included, the South Sudan envoy meeting and a meeting on safety measures for missions in the Middle East are added.

Greenberg's father was Maurice Greenberg. Ministry materials from 2024 state that Maurice Greenberg was a Korean War veteran and served as the council's 4th chairman. The cut-off sentence in the president's post points to him. Evan Greenberg is chairman and chief executive officer of the insurer Chubb. The ministry said in April 2024 that he would serve as the council's 9th chairman from 2024 to 2025. Then-Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul expressed gratitude for contributions to South Korea-U.S. relations over two generations, the ministry said. Greenberg said at that 2024 meeting that companies need a stable environment, that he supports a new professional visa quota for South Koreans, and that cooperation in digital, artificial intelligence and defense industries is important, the ministry said. Those remarks came in 2024.

The ministry posted Cho's speech in its Open Minister's Office list under a title presenting the future of the alliance drawn by an irreplaceable Republic of Korea. The post is dated October 16, 2026. The audience was businesspeople from both countries.

Cho held a breakfast meeting on October 8 with U.S. Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican from Pennsylvania. They discussed South Korea-U.S. relations and Korean Peninsula issues, the ministry said. The post is dated October 13.

The South Korean and U.S. presidents adopted the Washington Declaration in Washington on April 26, 2023, marking the alliance's 70th anniversary. They said extended deterrence would be strengthened and a Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) would be created. The NCG is a consultative body on nuclear and strategic planning. The ministry post is dated May 2, 2023. The U.S. government publication number is DCPD-202300340.

The U.S.-Korea Business Council is a private economic consultative body operated by the Federation of Korean Industries and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This meeting is the 36th, by the ministry's count. A record of the 27th meeting remains at the ministry. That meeting was in Washington, D.C., with about 50 attendees from each side. The two business communities said the South Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement contributed to trade, investment and job creation and agreed to widen cooperation, the ministry said. The attendee list for the 36th meeting has not been released. The venue was FKI Tower in Yeouido, Seoul, from a photo caption provided by the ministry.