The Democratic Party of Korea maintained its support for the results of the Korea-U.S. tariff discussions on the 15th, referring to the ‘Joi...
The Democratic Party of Korea maintained its support for the results of the Korea-U.S. tariff discussions on the 15th, referring to the ‘Joint Fact Sheet’ released by both nations on the 14th as “a document in the national interest.” In response to the People Power Party's criticisms of the agreement, it said, “undermining national interest through unfounded complaints.” The People Power Party countered, “Saying that requesting justification for labeling it a 'successful negotiation' is simply avoiding responsibility.”
Kim Hyun-jung, the Democratic Party's floor leader and spokesperson, stated, "This fact sheet is essentially a 'national interest sheet.' It clearly outlined the structure of 15% reciprocal tariffs, affirmed the principle of not disadvantaging the semiconductor industry, and excluded further liberalization of sensitive agricultural products. The mention of constructing nuclear-powered submarines, which the People Power Party had promised, was also included in the document."
Kim said, “In the face of this clear national interest, the People Power Party has ended up in a contradiction due to 'criticism for the sake of criticism.'” He added, “The People Power Party demonstrates internal inconsistency by describing the fact sheet as 'positive in reducing economic uncertainty' while simultaneously calling it a 'blank sheet with no achievements gained.' They accused the president of 'political conflict,' yet are now using the diplomatic success as a sacrifice in political disputes with illogical claims of 'hiding the Daejang-dong allegations.'"
Kim stated, "Nevertheless, public opinion does not align with the People Power Party's desires. Six in ten citizens considered the tariff negotiations to be 'well handled,' and even in the Yeongnam area, over half gave a positive response. If the People Power Party keeps opposing the general sentiment, the public will turn away from them."
Baek Seung-ah, another floor leader representative, said, "The People Power Party is fabricating information without any foundation by referring to the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiation fact sheet, which safeguards national interests and strengthens the Korea-U.S. alliance to a new level, as a 'blank sheet' or a 'humiliating discussion.'" She further noted, "This clearly shows a political motive to exploit even diplomatic and security accomplishments as instruments for political conflict, and it constitutes an irresponsible political attack that damages the conservative emblem of the Korea-U.S. alliance itself."
Baek also stated, "This fact sheet is a 'national interest document' that has created a new opportunity for Korea-U.S. collaboration." She emphasized, "Especially, the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines represents a historic milestone as a long-awaited initiative for self-reliant national defense," and "the debate regarding the opening of agricultural products is also a false accusation. There is no mention of market liberalization, tariff cuts, or increased quotas in the fact sheet." She added, "Misrepresenting the simple enhancement of administrative procedures as 'opening' to create fear is irresponsible provocation."
Baek stated, "If the People Power Party hinders the legislation required to carry out the tariff negotiations due to political conflicts, the public will eventually render the People Power Party ineffective. We call on them to cease actions that create division by spreading misinformation."
Park Seung-hoon, the head of the People Power Party's communication team, said, "It's completely unclear what we have achieved through this discussion. Rather than safeguarding our country's interests, we are now facing significant responsibilities and ambiguous assurances. It's truly 'a mountain beyond a mountain' and a deal that 'isn't finished until it's finished.'"
Park stated, “No one is clarifying how to manage the biggest financial responsibility, and concerning the 350 billion dollar investment in the U.S., only general directions have been provided, with details about when, what goals, and how to proceed still undefined.”
He specifically mentioned, “The government pledged to allocate 200 billion dollars in cash from the total 350 billion dollars, amounting to 20 billion dollars each year, but there is no clarification on whether we have the ability to obtain such a large sum in dollars, how to achieve this without harming foreign exchange reserves, or how to manage potential investment losses.” He further stated, “The government remains quiet as a bee-stung mute about the key aspects of the negotiation that put the people's taxes and assets at risk.”
Concerning specific sections of the fact sheet, Park remarked: “The agricultural product opening clause, implemented as per former U.S. President Trump's request, revealed the government's prior claim that 'there would be no opening' as false"; "they secretly incorporated issues closely tied to South Korea's digital sovereignty, such as network usage fees, online platform regulations, and Google's high-precision map exports, indicating U.S. demands"; "with regard to nuclear submarine construction, key elements like the timing, location, and plans for securing nuclear fuel are all absent"; "to permit uranium enrichment and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, not only must the South Korea-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement be revised, but also the government and Congress need to agree, along with modifications to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). It is not a time for optimistic views"; "as for semiconductor tariffs, apart from the vague statement 'not treated less favorably than other countries,' there are no specific details on how it will be applied compared to competitor Taiwan"; and "in non-tariff areas as well, concessions were made to significantly liberalize market access, such as removing the annual certification cap of 50,000 units for U.S. automobiles in South Korea."
He added, "The commitment to buy $25 billion worth of U.S. military equipment over five years translates into an extra annual cost of around 7 trillion won, amounting to roughly 36 trillion won over five years. When the total support of $33 billion (approximately 48 trillion won) for U.S. forces in Korea is taken into account, the financial strain becomes staggering."
Park stated, "The impact on the public is evident, yet the real advantages the government has obtained are still unconfirmed. This is a discussion involving tens of trillions of won in financial responsibilities each year." He further noted, "The Constitution assigns the National Assembly the responsibility to examine these agreements on behalf of the people. This negotiation must be openly reviewed through the parliamentary approval process." Park stressed, "We cannot permit the Lee Jae-myung administration's one-sided actions to place a financial burden of 10 million won per citizen without the public's approval."
Choi Soo-jin, the main floor representative of the People Power Party, remarked, “President Lee Jae-myung strongly mentioned in September that ‘if I had accepted a 350 billion dollar investment in the U.S. as requested, I would have been removed from office.’ Therefore, the administration needs to clearly clarify how the present investment is different from that scenario.”
In this regard, Choi said, “The government has not clearly addressed important issues such as the requirement to cover 200 billion dollars from the total 350 billion dollars, the approach to obtain 20 billion dollars each year, worries about harming foreign exchange reserves, and safeguards against potential investment losses.” Choi mentioned, “The annual 20 billion dollars is more than double the Bank of Korea’s foreign currency management income of 12.8 trillion won, and there are fears that acquiring this sum might strain the financial and foreign exchange markets.” She further stated, “This is very likely to result in national financial pressures such as issuing government bonds or taking on extra loans.”
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