청 Policy Chief: "No Possibility of Chinese Economic Retaliation"

CBS Radio 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' Interview... "No Atmosphere of Economic Retaliation at All"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] Lee Ho-seung, Chief of Policy at the Blue House, stated that although China is protesting the outcome of the South Korea-US summit, there is no possibility of economic retaliation like during the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) incident.

In an interview on the CBS radio program ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show’ on the 25th, Lee was asked whether China might engage in economic retaliation as it did during the THAAD issue. He replied, "I do not think so."

Regarding the uncomfortable atmosphere from China about the South Korea-US summit results, Lee explained, "(The economic retaliation) atmosphere is not there at all." When the host asked for the basis of his judgment, he only said, "Because it is considered a prediction that is too far ahead."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This judgment is related to the Blue House’s explanation that necessary communication with China had been maintained ahead of President Moon Jae-in’s visit to the United States. In the interview that day, Lee emphasized, "China is geographically adjacent and a very important economic cooperation partner in terms of trade and overseas investment," adding, "South Korea is striving to strengthen a mutually beneficial relationship with China."

Meanwhile, Lee stated, "Our corporate investments are carried out strictly on a commercial basis," and "We must aim for the global market, and the strategy is to secure a position in large markets." This means that the large-scale investment by Korean companies in the US, announced during President Moon’s visit, is difficult to view as a ‘losing business.’

Hong Ik-pyo, Director of the Democratic Research Institute, also appeared on KBS radio’s ‘Choi Kyung-young’s Strong Current Affairs’ on the 25th, explaining, "If Samsung or SK do not accept the US demands, it would be difficult to carry out exports or stable technological cooperation," and "There is a certain degree of alignment between the government’s diplomatic interests and the private interests of companies."

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