Ando Geol Strongly Criticizes Han Ducksoo's "Trade Negotiations with the United States" as Acting President

At the Strategy and Finance Committee Plenary Session:
"Unilateral Disarmament and Overreaching Diplomacy"

Ando Geol, Member of the National Assembly.

Ando Geol, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Gwangju Dongnam-eul, expressed strong concerns on April 30 during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee regarding the ongoing "trade negotiations with the United States" under the acting leadership of Han Ducksoo.

Ando stated, "There are growing voices of concern about Acting President Han Ducksoo conducting trade negotiations with the United States," and pointed out, "In particular, remarks made by Han during an interview with the Financial Times on April 20 have fueled further controversy."

He continued, "There is criticism that Han's response, saying he would 'not fight back against' U.S. tariffs, amounts to declaring unilateral disarmament even before negotiations have begun," adding, "This could send the wrong signal to the U.S. side that our government is willing to make concessions too easily."

He also criticized the lack of mention regarding the unique nature of Korea-U.S. trade relations. Ando explained, "Korea is a country that has signed an FTA with the United States, and the effective tariff rate on U.S. imports is only 0.79%. Recently, 96% of Korea’s trade surplus with the U.S. has been reinvested into the U.S. economy through local investments. The expansion of the trade surplus is a natural result of increased exports of intermediate goods, which is driven by the rise in local investment."

Ando also raised issues regarding Han's understanding of the scope of his authority as acting president. He pointed out, "There are concerns that Han is misunderstanding the scope of authority as a caretaker government, especially after his statement that there is no difference between the powers of an acting president and an elected president."

Ando further criticized the fact that Kim Taehyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, visited the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on April 25 and held policy consultations on shipbuilding and security. Ando emphasized, "With the president having been dismissed, the presidential office should only be maintaining the status quo," and added, "There are criticisms that Deputy Director Kim’s discussions with the U.S. on matters such as shipbuilding and security constitute an overreach of authority."

Meanwhile, Ando also criticized Han Ducksoo for approving such actions, stating, "There is a growing chorus of voices saying that Han, as acting president, has overstepped his authority and made a grave misjudgment."

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