<기사제목>Presidential Office on China's Sanctions Against Micron: "US-China Issue... Will Monitor Consultations"

US Congress: "South Korea Should Not Fill Micron's Vacancy"
Various Opinions in Our Political Circles... "Will Take Into Account"

On US Reports of Ukraine Arms Support... "Position Unchanged"
Yoon on Japanese Reports of NATO Meeting Attendance: "Inaccurate Reporting"
Presidential Office: "Inaccurate Reporting Delays Trust with Other Countries"

On the 25th, the Presidential Office distanced itself from pressure remarks made in the U.S. Congress regarding China's sanctions on the American semiconductor company Micron, stating that "fundamentally, this is an issue between the U.S. and China."

A key official from the Presidential Office met with reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office that afternoon and said, "Various positions are emerging in our political circles as well, and we need to consider them accordingly." He added, "We will observe how the U.S. and China negotiate and respond accordingly."

Earlier, China claimed that Micron's products posed a serious security risk to China's critical information infrastructure supply chain and effectively imposed a sales ban.

The U.S. stated that China's announcement lacks basis and declared it would respond to China's coercive economic practices together with its allies and partner countries. In particular, Mike Gallagher, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' U.S.-China Strategic Competition Special Committee, issued a statement saying, "The U.S. Department of Commerce must ensure that U.S. export licenses for foreign memory semiconductor companies operating in China are not used by South Korea, which has directly experienced China's economic coercion, to backfill Micron's position."

Earlier that day, President Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized at the credential presentation ceremony for heads of overseas diplomatic missions that "the core of diplomacy is the economy" and urged them to "work hard for economic cooperation and supply chain stability," according to presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon during a briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office.

President Yoon presented credentials to 12 ambassadors at Yongsan Presidential Office, including Yoo Jeong-hyun, Ambassador to the European Union (EU) in Belgium; Kim Yong-hyun, Ambassador to Egypt; Cho Tae-ik, Ambassador to Kazakhstan; Choi Hyung-chan, Ambassador to the Netherlands; Lee Jang-geun, Ambassador to ASEAN; Bae Jong-in, Ambassador to Bulgaria; Kim Yong-gil, Ambassador to Ireland; Ji Gyu-taek, Ambassador to Turkmenistan; Koo Heon-sang, Ambassador to Bahrain; Park Tae-young, Ambassador to Nepal; Jung Woo-jin, Ambassador to Rwanda; and Min Jae-hoon, Ambassador to Nicaragua.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the Wall Street Journal article published on the 24th (local time) reporting that "South Korea is supplying hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to Ukraine in a manner similar to lending to the U.S.," the key official responded, "We have already stated our position on support for Ukraine, and that position has not changed." The Presidential Office and government have consistently emphasized that "we do not provide lethal weapons support to Ukraine."

Regarding a Japanese TBS report that President Yoon will attend the NATO summit in Lithuania this July, the official said, "I believe that report is inaccurate."

The official also mentioned, "Looking back to March, the South Korea-Japan summit was held in Tokyo on March 16-17," adding, "There have been many instances of confusion between South Korea and Japan due to reports that were factually incorrect or somewhat distorted and exaggerated."

He further warned, "When inaccurate reports come from the other side, it can slow down the process of maintaining trust between the countries. We should keep this in mind."

Regarding the issue that during the visit of President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the Korean atomic bomb victim memorial in Hiroshima Peace Park on the 21st, victims in Korea expressed a desire to participate but the Presidential Office did not respond, the official explained, "The Hiroshima event was originally prepared for victims residing in Hiroshima, so we were not fully aware of the victims in Hapcheon until the very end." He added, "Since the issue has been raised and the media is paying attention, we will look into it separately."

When asked about the evaluation of the Fukushima Korean inspection team's activities, which have effectively concluded and whether the Presidential Office received a separate report, the official said, "The Fukushima-related activities continue until the 26th. After returning, there will naturally be a report to our citizens." He added, "We will carefully review whether the objectively investigated results are well explained to the public so that they can trust them."

He continued, "If the government or the Presidential Office needs to take additional measures afterward, we will take appropriate actions at that time."

Regarding the position on seafood imports, he said, "There is no need to mention seafood imports here," adding, "We are not at a stage to discuss seafood imports now, nor are we discussing it at all."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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