Yoon Expresses Firm Trust in US and Japan in Special Interview

Possibility of Trump's Election: "Congress Remains the Same Even if the President Changes"
On Korea-Japan Relations: "Moving Toward the Future"
Regarding Korea-China Relations: "Similar Philosophy on Foreign Relations"

President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed firm trust in the South Korea-US and South Korea-Japan relations on the 7th, stating that "even if the president changes, the legislature remains the same" and "South Korea-Japan relations have now been restored and are moving toward the future," respectively.

President Yoon made these remarks when asked about South Korea-US and South Korea-Japan relations during a New Year's special interview with KBS, which aired from 10 p.m. that day.

When the anchor first asked, "How would you prepare if former US President Donald Trump is re-elected in the upcoming November US presidential election?" President Yoon replied, "It is not appropriate to predict or comment on the election results of an allied country," but added, "Last year, a delegation of US senators who visited said something meaningful?that 'even if the president changes, the legislature remains the same.'"

He then emphasized, "The issue with South Korea-US relations is whether to further strengthen and upgrade the alliance or not."

He also showed confidence in the restoration of South Korea-Japan relations. President Yoon stated, "The compensation ruling is a final judgment from the judiciary that no longer requires controversy, so the issue is how to resolve South Korea-Japan relations going forward," and pointed out, "Regardless of how the rulings on compensation for forced labor victims are decided in the future, South Korea-Japan relations have now been restored and are moving toward the future."

President Yoon reiterated the purpose of improving South Korea-Japan relations, saying, "Businesspeople from both countries have worked very hard to create business synergies through mutual exchanges, and both countries have earnestly hoped for the normalization of political relations," and added, "As the President of the Republic of Korea, I thought it was necessary to normalize South Korea-Japan relations and restore them as friendly cooperative countries as before."

Regarding the 'South Korea-US-Japan trilateral cooperation' established during the South Korea-US-Japan summit held at Camp David, the US president's retreat, in August last year, he introduced it by saying, "Since the three countries aim to demonstrate joint leadership for world peace and prosperity, I think it is even more meaningful."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response to the criticism that "as South Korea-US-Japan relations are upgraded, the relationship with China might become more distant," President Yoon said, "China and we share the same philosophy and basis in foreign relations," and mentioned that there is no need for concern.

Regarding the possibility of Chinese President Xi Jinping visiting South Korea, he said, "I had a bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping at the 2022 G20 summit in Indonesia, and at last year's G20 summit held in India, I had a bilateral meeting with Premier Li Qiang," adding, "Both of them spoke about respecting multilateralism, and I also said that I respect free trade."

He continued, "Free trade and multilateralism arise based on a rules-based international order, so the principles emphasized in South Korea-China relations?mutual respect, a rules-based international order, and shared prosperity?are all based on the same foundation. Therefore, the basic national policy and foreign relations principles between the Republic of Korea and China are not different."

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