South Korea's chief trade negotiator has been dismissed from his post, officials said on Saturday, as Seoul faces mounting tariff pressure from the United States amid a series of unresolved bilateral trade issues.

No reason was given for the removal.

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo had been South Korea's principal trade envoy, making several trips to Washington this year to meet US administration and congressional officials on tariffs, chip measures and digital policy concerns.

The ministry said personnel decisions involving political appointees were within the president's authority and that it would work to ensure no disruption to pending trade matters.

The dismissal comes at a sensitive time for bilateral trade relations, as Seoul faces growing US pressure to accelerate its investment commitments under a bilateral tariff deal and a dispute over fines against US-listed e-commerce giant Coupang over a customer data breach.

Coupang was hit with a record $403 million dollars in June over a massive data breach affecting millions of South Korean customers.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing new tariffs on drones and their components, including a 15 percent levy on imports from Korea.

Yeo previously served as director-general for trade policy and later as chief trade negotiator at the ministry under the Moon Jae-in administration, before being reappointed to the chief negotiator role when the Lee Jae-myung administration took office.

Since returning to the post, he has played a key role in trade negotiations with Washington, including talks over US tariffs and Korea's investment commitments.