Park Su-hyun, Senior Secretary to the President, "Government's Delay in Russia Sanctions Does Not Cause Corporate Damage" (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Park Su-hyun, Chief of Public Communication at the Blue House, stated on the 2nd, "It is completely untrue that our government hesitated on sanctions against Russia, causing damage to our companies, or that only we have been caught up in the sanctions against Russia."

On the same day, Park appeared on TBS and YTN radio programs and addressed criticism regarding the Russia sanctions, saying, "There were reports suggesting that only we were caught up in the (Russia) sanctions, which caused confusion among the public, but I want to clarify that this is not the case at all."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park explained, "When Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, President Moon Jae-in immediately expressed his intention to join the international community's efforts, including economic sanctions."

He mentioned that on the 28th of last month, Lee Eok-won, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, visited the U.S. Treasury Department and met with Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo. He then cited measures taken by the Korean government, such as suspending transactions with Russian banks, halting investments in Russian government bonds, and committing to participate in and implement sanctions related to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).

Park added, "Furthermore, President Moon instructed the government to immediately implement humanitarian aid to support Ukraine, and as a follow-up measure, our government has already decided to provide $10 million in support."

He also noted that there is a connection between the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the U.S. Department of Commerce at the director-general level, and that the head of the Korea Trade Negotiations Office plans to visit the United States.

Previously, the Chosun Ilbo reported that while the U.S. granted export control exemptions to major allies for sanctions against Russia, South Korea was not granted such an exemption.

The report stated that Korean companies are not exempt from the U.S. Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR), which means they must wait for U.S. approval to export certain items to Russia, placing them at a disadvantage.

Park clarified, "Being an FDPR-exempt country does not mean that all goods can be exported freely," adding, "It means that whether exports to Russia are allowed is reviewed by the country itself, not by the U.S., according to the approval criteria."

He continued, "Even if the country reviews it, if there are goods that cannot be exported, then they cannot be exported," and explained, "It is not true that the government hesitated and caused damage to companies."

When asked if there is a plan for a call between President Moon and U.S. President Joe Biden regarding international sanctions, Park responded, "Since working-level negotiations on sanctions are ongoing, I think such a call will naturally take place as needed."

Meanwhile, regarding criticism from opposition parties accusing President Moon of distorting history by referring to the Kim Dae-jung (DJ) administration as the 'first democratic government' in his March 1st Independence Movement Day speech, Park stated, "Democracy before the DJ administration was more formal than substantive."

Park said, "Before the DJ administration, we could not claim that Korea was a highly advanced democracy on the global stage in terms of substance."

Previously, in his commemorative speech, President Moon said, "The Kim Dae-jung government, the first democratic government, confidently opened up to Japanese culture," and "Our culture and arts grew stronger through diversity and even gained competitiveness to the extent of surpassing Japanese culture."

In response, the People Power Party criticized, saying, "What is the intention behind deliberately passing over the civilian government (Kim Young-sam administration), which established the banner of freedom and democracy through various reforms?" and asked, "Are you trying to cause division among the people with this tiresome factionalism?"

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