Koo Yun-cheol Says He "Does Not Know" Why U.S. Raised Tariffs, Opposition Slams "Total Diplomatic Fiasco"

According to The Financial News, Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance, has yet to determine why U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he would raise tariffs on Korean-made products to 25%, citing delays in the National Assembly’s legislation related to investment in the United States. This was reported on the 27th.
On that day at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Koo Yun-cheol met with Lim Yi-ja, Chairperson of the Strategy and Finance Committee, Park Soo-young of the People Power Party (PPP), a senior member of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly, and Chun Ha-ram of the Reform Party (South Korea), a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly. He briefed them on the situation surrounding the tariff hike.
After the closed-door meeting, Chairperson Lim spoke with reporters and said, "Deputy Prime Minister Koo has absolutely no idea why this situation has occurred," adding, "He told us that even if we were to hold a hearing on the matter, there is nothing he would be able to answer."
Some observers have suggested that the current situation stems from comments Koo made in an interview with foreign media, where he indicated that implementation of investment commitments in the United States could be delayed. On this point, Chairperson Lim said, "The Ministry of Economy and Finance says it has not grasped anything at all," and continued, "It is frustrating that Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy says he will only be able to understand the situation after meeting in the U.S. with Howard William Lutnick, the United States Secretary of Commerce."
Regarding the letter that James R. Heller, Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of the United States to the Republic of Korea, sent on the 13th to Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, urging follow-up implementation of investment commitments in the United States, Chairperson Lim remarked, "It seems that changes began from that point, but I cannot help but suspect that the government failed to read the situation because it responded too complacently."
According to the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly, Deputy Prime Minister Bae Kyung-hoon did not share the letter with the relevant ministries after receiving it. Park Soo-young criticized, "If Deputy Prime Minister Bae received the letter, he should have shared it with the ministers and coordinated a response, but he did not," adding, "This is a total crisis. It is an incident that shows the collapse of our diplomatic capabilities."
In response to President Lee Jae-myung of South Korea indirectly blaming the National Assembly by saying earlier in the day that "the National Assembly is so slow that it is impossible to get anything done," Park Soo-young countered, "Even though the president is blaming the National Assembly, neither the Ministry of Economy and Finance nor the ruling party has ever pushed to pass the bill quickly," and stressed, "It appears the government is neither making progress on this issue nor studying it thoroughly. I cannot accept the president’s claim that delays are due to the National Assembly."
Park Soo-young also condemned as a "diplomatic disaster" the fact that Prime Minister Kim Min-seok of the Republic of Korea, who recently visited the United States of America (U.S.) and met with J. D. Vance, Vice President of the United States, failed to detect the impending tariff hike in advance. Park said, "He boasted that he had established a hotline with Vice President Vance and that even issues involving Coupang and pastor Son Hyeon-bo had been settled, yet the very next day after he returned home, we were blindsided. That is a diplomatic fiasco."

haeram@fnnews.com Lee Hae-ram Reporter