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South Korea “will not retaliate” against American prices, said its acting president, citing the country's historic debt in Washington before commercial negotiations with the administration of Donald Trump which is expected to start next week.
Han Duck-Soo, a technocrat serving as an acting president following Yoon Suk Yeol Withdraw from This month, by the Constitutional Court of the country, said: “The role of the United States was enormous in Korea what it is now”.
“After the devastation of the Korean War … The United States gave us help, technology transfer, investment and security insurance”, which has helped make South Korea “a very comfortable investment environment for foreigners,” Han told Financial Times in an interview.
“Our industrial prowess and our financial development and our culture, our growth and our wealth are very due to the help of the United States,” he added.
In the light of this gratitude debt, Seoul – one of the closest security allies of Washington and economic partners in Asia – would enter negotiations with Trump seeking to find “solutions that are more winning for both, rather than taking their actions as a goal compared to which we should fight back,” said Han.
South Korean officials were dismayed when Trump announced a “reciprocal” rate of 25% on the country this month, despite a free trade agreement under which South Korea does not take prices on American products.
The Korean car giants Hyundai and Kia were also struck by a 25% US Levy on car manufacturerswhile manufacturers of flea and pharmaceutical companies in the country face potential prices under a national security probe Announced by Washington this week.
South KoreaThe main conglomerates devote tens of billions of dollars to build advanced manufacturing factories for fries, electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.
But Seoul's trade surplus with the United States has also increased sharply, reaching a record of $ 55 billion in 2024 after The United States has supplanted China like its biggest export destination.
Han, who said that he had a “good” 28-minute telephone call with Trump earlier this month, said South Korea was willing to discuss the reduction in its trade surplus, including buying natural lines and liquefied sales lines. He added that it increased Cooperation in naval naval construction “Can help the United States strengthen its alliances.”
He also said that Seoul was willing to discuss non -pricing trade barriers in South Korea. Among the longtime American grievances are the regulations on Seoul automobile emissions, the opaque pharmaceutical price, the refusal to import American beef and network fees on American content providers such as Netflix.
Han conceded that certain industries “could undergo certain problems” following negotiations, but said that a broader liberalization of trade between the two countries “would increase the well-being of the Korean people”.
The Trump administration also started Trade discussions with Japan This week, while the White House favors closed allies in order to conclude agreements and start to retreat the president's trade war, which disrupted the world markets.
Trump, who, during his first mandate, threatened to withdraw American troops from the Korean peninsula, said this month that negotiations with Seoul explicitly linked commercial and security problems, in particular “the payment of important military protection that we offer to South Korea”-a major potential concern for Seoul, which depends on the American protection against the North Korean nuclear threat.
Han stressed that there was not yet a “clear framework” to discuss security, but reported a will, “depending on the problems”, to reopen a cost sharing agreement concluded with the Biden administration last year concerning the 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea.
Han, an unadred official who is also a Prime Minister, bristles questions concerning his authority to carry out negotiations which could reshape the American-Korean relationship for the years to come.
The opposition parties have raised concerns that an agreement negotiated by Han links the hands of his elected successor. South Korea East Due to the organization of a SnAP presidential election In early June to replace Yoon, who was dismissed and moved from his duties for his failed attempt to impose martial law last year.
Han firmly rejected the suggestion that a trade agreement that he negotiated is lacking in democratic legitimacy, arguing that his mandate came “from the Constitution and relevant laws” and “there is no distinction between what the acting presidents or the elected presidents can do”.
Calls also rise among some South Korean preservatives for Han, a named person of Yoon who has never held his elected duties, to defend himself. Supporters consider him a source of stability in the middle of the disarray in the Power Party of Yoon after the debacle of martial law.
But Han refused if he would present himself to the presidency, saying that he had “not yet” made a decision. Pushed if he was considering an offer, he said: “No comments.”
