Ruling party lawmakers' criticism of Trump far from solution to stalled tariff negotiations

Some ruling party lawmakers have been harshly criticizing the United States recently over the difficult tariff negotiations between South Korea and the US.

Referring to US President Donald Trump's demand that Korea invest $350 billion in the US in "upfront" cash, a member of the Supreme Council of the Democratic Party of Korea said Monday that the demand is without cause, comparing it to forcing reparations from defeated countries for their war crimes. Seoul had pledged to invest that amount in the US as part of a broad trade deal to lower US tariffs. The lawmaker warned that all of the Korean people will "resist US threats that trample on their sovereignty."

The largest faction in the party, a group of dozens of lawmakers known as the Innovation Conference, last Saturday denounced Trump's remarks about the upfront payment of $350 billion. They said Trump was talking nonsense, quoting a Korean proverb that could sound offensive in some cases.

The group of lawmakers on Sept. 23 called Trump's demand "an unfair bill charging every Korean 10 million won ($7,100)." They said they will campaign to boycott travel to the US and American products unless he withdraws the unfair demand.

A five-term lawmaker close to President Lee Jae Myung said that the US pressure on South Korea amounts to "highway robbery."

No matter how unreasonable Washington's demands are, or how inconsiderate it is behaving toward its ally, these words are overly emotional and coarse.

Considering South Korea's economic conditions, the demand is hard to accept. The amount is equivalent to 84 percent of its foreign reserves. This will likely lead to a financial crisis like the one in 1997 that was driven by depleted reserves. Furthermore, Seoul will have little say in directing its investment in America.

Washington was not interested in the unlimited currency swap that Seoul proposed as a condition for the investment.

The Democratic Party lawmakers may have said sharp words with the intention of buttressing the government's position in the negotiations by highlighting national resistance.

However, such coarse criticism could provoke Trump needlessly, further complicating negotiations and resulting in higher tariffs or other retaliatory measures. It is clear which side will suffer more if negotiations break down. The collapse of negotiations will deliver a severe blow to the South Korean economy, which relies heavily on exports.

It is all the more concerning that none other than ruling party lawmakers close to President Lee have censured the US with such language. The Innovation Conference has been criticized for acting like bodyguards for Lee, protecting him whenever he is in political trouble, so their denunciation raises suspicions that they may have taken their cues from the presidential office.

Before they criticized Trump, Lee said in an interview with a foreign media outlet that South Korea could face a financial crisis like 1997 if it invests $350 billion in cash without a currency swap. Earlier, he said he might have been impeached if he had accepted Washington's excessive demands.

Now, cooperation with the US is more important than ever. North Korea has been getting closer to China recently after providing military support to Russia in the Ukraine war. Beijing is seeking to take the initiative on the Korea issues by rapidly building up its relations with Pyongyang. Yet it is hard to say that ties between Seoul and Washington have recently been stable, even if Trump handles politics and trade separately. There are concerns that difficulties in tariff negotiations may affect South Korea's national security.

Ruling party lawmakers need to mind their language and consider what they should say.

Inflammatory anti-US remarks could promote misunderstandings and distrust, driving the negotiations toward the worst outcome. Harsh language is of no help to the nation. We have seen past cases of politicians aggravating the government's negotiations by bringing up historical issues to stir up animosity among voters and rally them.

Anti-American instigation is never the way to go. It is time to find new alternatives that can persuade Trump and focus on those.


khnews@heraldcorp.com