US Pressuring 'Anti-China Bloc' to Join Huawei Exclusion in Korea... Korea Says "Private Companies Will Decide"

Differences Confirmed at the Korea-US High-Level Economic Talks... "No Specific Discussions on What to Exclude"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] A subtle difference in stance between South Korea and the United States has been confirmed regarding the 'Clean Network' policy promoted by the U.S. as part of efforts to exclude Huawei, ZTE, and others. While the U.S. conveyed its position on the 'Clean Network' and effectively requested South Korea's participation, the South Korean government maintained that choosing products from specific companies is a matter for private companies to decide and agreed to continue consultations with the U.S. on 5G network security.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the 5th Korea-U.S. High-Level Economic Consultations (SED) via video conference, with Second Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-ho and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Keith Krach as chief representatives, discussing current issues for about 2 hours and 40 minutes.

During the consultations, the U.S. side conveyed its position on the 'Clean Network,' which is being promoted consistently as part of the 'anti-China economic bloc.' The Clean Network is a policy to exclude Huawei, ZTE, and others in areas such as telecommunications companies, app stores, submarine cables, and cloud computing. The U.S. government has requested South Korea to join this effort. The U.S. State Department currently designates SKT and KT as 'clean companies,' while it has demanded LG Uplus to stop using Huawei products.

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "The U.S. side conveyed its existing position, and we also stated our basic stance," adding, "There was no specific agreement on what should be excluded." He further explained, "We told the U.S. side that whether to use products from specific companies is a decision for private companies," and added, "We agreed to closely consult with the U.S. on 5G security concerns."

The government currently finds it difficult to intervene in the use of Huawei products by specific companies such as LG Uplus but considers 5G security issues as matters to be resolved in the national interest and is conducting consultations among relevant ministries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs official explained that South Korea's position on the 'Clean Network' is "under review and requires consultation with related ministries."

Furthermore, it is known that discussions on another anti-China economic bloc, the Economic Prosperity Network (EPN), did not take place at this meeting. Although Deputy Secretary Krach explained the EPN initiative to the Korean side in June, it was not brought up at this consultation.

Meanwhile, regarding the promotion of practical cooperation linking South Korea's New Southern Policy and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, progress was evaluated in areas such as development, infrastructure, energy, and resources, and it was agreed to continue cooperation to discover new joint projects in related fields.

The Korea-U.S. chief representatives agreed to continuously explore new economic cooperation agendas and seek new directions for development through diverse policy proposals from the private sector at the '4th Korea-U.S. Public-Private Joint Economic Forum,' scheduled to be held on the 22nd in Washington D.C. via in-person and video meetings, focusing on cooperation linking the New Southern Policy and Indo-Pacific Strategy and innovation cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.