Adds U.S. official's comments ; paragraphs 9-11

By Ju-min Park

SEOUL, June 13 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on Friday his government would focus on easing regulations and accelerate working-level tariff talks with Washington as part of broader support for companies on trade matters.

The future of South Korea's export-oriented economy, with key sectors from chips to vehicles and shipbuilding heavily exposed to global trade, may hinge on the kind of deal Lee can strike on tariffs with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Lee made the comments at a meeting with heads of top conglomerates and other business leaders, where he sat between Samsung Electronics 005930.KS Chairman Jay Y. Lee and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung.

"Companies are currently having difficulties in international competition, and we will focus on minimising the difficulties they are experiencing in international competition and expanding their economic territory," Lee told the meeting.

Lee said he would put national interests first, based on his "pragmatic, flexible" trade policy, and speed working-level tariff talks with Washington, his spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung, told a briefing.

A liberal elected on June 3 on a business-friendly plank, Lee asked the gathered executives for suggestions on the trade situation, and vowed the government would do its best to follow them.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who also leads the Korea Chamber of Commerce, told Lee that Korean companies found it difficult to make decisions on issues such as investments amid the uncertainty around U.S. tariffs.

Samsung's Lee said he hoped the partnership between the government and private firms could help South Korea weather a "multi-dimensional crisis".

In a separate event on Friday, Kim Hee-sang, Seoul's deputy minister for economic affairs, met a senior U.S. diplomat and the two reaffirmed the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

"We should explore ways to strengthen cooperation in various fields," said Sean O'Neill, a senior official of the U.S. State Department's bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs, the South Korean government said.

Such areas included shipbuilding, economic security and expanding mutual investment, O'Neill added.

Last week, Lee and Trump agreed to work towards a swift deal in their first telephone call since Lee took office.

At the meeting with business leaders, the industry ministry said it would assess the impact of U.S. tariffs on makers of home appliances and prepare support measures.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Kate Mayberry)

((ju-min.park@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: ju-min.park.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))