On the 'U.S. Coupang hearing,' Jang Dong-hyuk says, 'The Lee administration’s amateurish governance caused a diplomatic disaster'

[Financial News] On the 9th, People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk pointed to the government and ruling party’s pressure on Coupang as the reason for U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to reimpose 25% tariffs. He argued, "The Lee Jae-myung administration’s amateurish governance and retaliatory diplomacy have led to a diplomatic disaster," adding, "South Korea is on the verge of being branded a remote backwater for investment and a high-risk zone for legal disputes that global companies and investors will avoid."
At the supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Jang said, "When President Trump pushed for a tariff hike, the Lee Jae-myung administration claimed it was 100% because of delays in the special law on investment in the United States, but that was 100% a lie." He continued, "Our party rushed to reach an agreement and even laid out a schedule for passing the bill, yet the U.S. government’s stance only hardened."
Jang went on, "The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is said to be holding a hearing on Coupang," noting, "In the subpoena issued to Coupang’s interim representative Harold Rogers, Committee Chair Jim Jordan criticized the Korean government’s response to the Coupang affair as discriminatory and demanded the submission of communications with the Korean government, the Office of the President, and the National Assembly." He added, "He also said he would uncover the truth behind the perjury charges brought against the head of Coupang," arguing, "In effect, this shows they do not trust the Lee administration."
He asserted, "From the very beginning of the Coupang affair, the Lee Jae-myung administration whipped up public opinion and pressured the media, focusing on constructing an anti-American frame." He criticized, "The Democratic Party of Korea shouted that even clubs were not enough, and in standing committee meetings they resorted to verbal abuse, responding purely on emotion."
Jang continued, "Even so, diplomacy toward the United States is virtually missing in action." He said, "The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the United States, who is said to be on a special mission from the administration, is nowhere to be seen, and the president’s friend serving as South Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York is said to be unable to speak a word of English. One cannot help but ask why they are in those positions at all."
He added, "Ministers and vice ministers get on planes and fly over to plead, but they are turned away at the door, or even when they do manage to meet counterparts, they come back empty-handed." He pointed out, "Trade conflicts spill over into security risks, and the much-vaunted security cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines has not even begun."
Meanwhile, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing as early as the 23rd. The committee has sent a subpoena to Rogers and plans to investigate alleged discrimination by the Korean government against Coupang. Coupang stated that this is "the position regarding the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into discrimination by the Korean government against a U.S. company and the committee’s issuance of a subpoena."

haeram@fnnews.com Lee Haeram Reporter