Korean President Lee Jae-myung is somewhat "naive," he actually believes in the "rationality" of the United States.
According to a front-page report by the Korea Herald, during the final stage of the tariff agreement, President Lee Jae-myung said he believed in the "rationality" of the United States.
Seoul seeks to gradually implement a 350 billion dollar investment plan to ease the pressure on the Korean won. "I also believe in the rationality of the United States. Therefore, I believe we can reach a rational agreement." According to Seoul officials, Kim Hyung-gwan, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday at the Department of Commerce for a two-hour meeting.
"The impact on our foreign exchange market should not be excessive - all these are interconnected." South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said he believed in the "rationality" of the United States, as Seoul and Washington attempt to end months of discussions on the 350 billion dollar investment plan and related tariff negotiations before the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in South Korea next week. Lee expressed confidence that the decades-long alliance between the two countries would guide both sides to a compromise. He said, "We are allies, and both sides have common sense and rationality." At the time of his remarks, the two governments were intensifying discussions in Washington, which are seen as the last obstacle before reaching an agreement that could reduce American tariffs on most Korean imports, including cars, from 25% to 15%.
The head of the South Korean presidential policy office, Kim Young-bum, and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Kim Hyung-gwan, said, "On some remaining issues," Kim Hyung-gwan told reporters after the meeting, "some progress has been made." This was the second meeting within a week.
The Korean delegation previously met with Lutnick on October 16, for more than four hours, during which a broad framework was reached, but key points remained unresolved. The core of the negotiations was the composition and timeline of Seoul's commitment.
South Korea hopes to reduce the proportion of direct investment and spread the payments over a period of time through loans and guarantees, while Washington is pushing for a larger cash injection in the early stages during Trump's second term.
Before the recent round of talks, Kim Hyung-gwan said that extending the investment period in Seoul "must be done within the range we can control, and the impact on our foreign exchange market should not be excessive - all these are interrelated."
According to sources, the two governments are discussing a plan under which South Korea will invest 25 billion dollars annually over eight years, totaling 20 billion dollars, as part of its 35 billion dollar commitment to the United States. "I think this will take some time," South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said in an interview with CNN on Thursday.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846869314548940/
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