"Shocking, Outrageous Negotiation Proposal"... Behind the Scenes of the Korea-U.S. Talks as Experienced by Three Presidential Chiefs

"I don't know if I should call it shocking... It was truly an outrageous proposal." Kim Yongbeom, Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy, recalled that this was his reaction after seeing the detailed negotiation proposal sent by the U.S. following the first Korea-U.S. summit in Washington, D.C. in August. He shared this recollection in a behind-the-scenes account of the Korea-U.S. tariff and security negotiations released on YouTube on the night of November 14. On July 30, the two countries had reached a broad agreement and proceeded with the first summit, but the detailed proposal later presented by the U.S. was significantly different from what had previously been discussed. Kim said, "Ah, this must be the Year of Eulsa," referring to 1905, the year the Eulsa Treaty was signed under Japanese coercion. By invoking this historical event, he indirectly expressed that the U.S. demands were unreasonable and that the negotiations were extremely difficult. He went on to recall the summit i