South Korea's abrupt dismissal of chief trade negotiator Yeo Han-koo has raised new questions over the management of trade talks with Washington after Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan left for an unscheduled U.S. trip on Aug. 16. Yeo, who held ministerial-level standing in negotiations and had been Seoul's counterpart to U.S. trade officials, was removed effective at midnight on Aug. 15 with no public explanation; a senior government official said the move was unrelated to Korea-U.S. tariff talks, while Yeo's representative denied rumor-driven misconduct allegations. The vacancy comes as Seoul faces unresolved disputes over Section 301 tariffs, Coupang and South Korean investment projects in the United States, including pressure to move ahead with a combined-cycle gas power plant in Texas under last year's $350 billion investment-for-tariff agreement. Washington already imposed a 12.5% tariff on South Korea after a Section 301 forced-labor investigation and is expected to release by month-end the results of a separate overproduction probe, raising concern that additional tariffs could push the overall burden above the 15% ceiling Seoul says it has sought to preserve. With no successor yet named, the ministry has shifted to an emergency operating system led by deputy minister for trade Park Jung-sung, while analysts expect Kim to carry more of the workload as U.S. pressure intensifies ahead of the November midterm elections.