US State Department Urges Replacement of Huawei Equipment, Mentions LGU+

by Paek Jongmin

Published 23 Jul.2020 04:42(KST)

Updated 23 Jul.2020 06:36(KST)

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. government has urged companies using Chinese Huawei's telecommunications equipment to cease transactions, mentioning LG Uplus.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

On the 22nd (local time), according to the U.S. State Department, Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Strayer said during a virtual briefing hosted by the New York Foreign Press Center the previous day, "We urge companies like LG Uplus to move from untrusted suppliers to trusted ones."

Deputy Assistant Secretary Strayer added, "(If LG Uplus stops using Huawei equipment) the U.S. will not provide incentives," and "We consider this a serious security issue."

Strayer even advised that it is beneficial to switch to trusted suppliers as soon as possible.

LG Uplus uses Huawei equipment in its fifth-generation (5G) network, which has led to continued U.S. scrutiny.

Strayer noted that many countries prohibit high-risk suppliers like Huawei in their 5G mobile networks, citing South Korea's SK Telecom and KT as examples. Although SK Telecom uses Huawei equipment, it does not use it in its 5G mobile network.

He also mentioned that demand will increase among entities that own and operate critical infrastructure to deal with trusted suppliers, citing companies promoting autonomous vehicles, smart manufacturing, and remote healthcare based on 5G. This statement is interpreted as a measure to block China from the dissemination of various new technologies through 5G networks.

The U.S. has pressured allied countries at the State Department level to exclude Huawei equipment from 5G mobile networks. On the 14th, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly named SK and KT, which do not use Huawei equipment, as "clean companies," urging other companies to join the anti-Huawei front.