Kim Youngbae: "Ratification of South Korea-U.S. MOU Not in National Interest... Special Act to Be Proposed in November"

Regarding the agreement on tariff negotiations between the leaders of South Korea and the United States, the Democratic Party of Korea announced plans to introduce a Special Act on Investment in the United States within November. The Democratic Party explained that, considering the "comprehensive" nature of the fact sheet from the South Korea-U.S. summit, it is necessary to respond in the form of a special law.

Kim Youngbae, the Democratic Party's secretary on the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, said in an SBS radio interview on the 17th, "The special law containing a comprehensive plan for the implementation of this ratification will be proposed within November." The previous day, Han Jeongae, the Democratic Party’s Policy Committee Chair, stated, "To implement the memorandum of understanding between the leaders of South Korea and the United States, a fund must be established. Even if the Ministry of Economy and Finance manages the fund, it is inevitable to establish an investment corporation to execute the investments," adding, "Since such provisions are necessary, the bill will be introduced in the National Assembly in the form of a legislative proposal by lawmakers."

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Assemblyman Kim said, "There is a law in domestic legislation called the Trade Treaty Act that allows the implementation of trade treaties, and it requires various impact assessments and the preparation of supplementary measures, among other follow-up actions," adding, "If necessary in the future, we will calmly discuss and address these issues one by one." This suggests that if additional legislation is needed, it will be pursued at a later stage.

Regarding the People Power Party's claim that this memorandum of understanding (MOU) should be subject to ratification, Assemblyman Kim expressed his opposition. He stated, "This MOU is fundamentally different in nature from treaties and laws," explaining, "It includes not only various economic agreement provisions related to tariffs, but also issues related to security, such as nuclear power, nuclear-powered submarines, airlines, arms purchases, and energy. It should be viewed as an agreement between governments." He further emphasized, "Some elements in the MOU require ratification, while others do not. It is not appropriate to ratify everything comprehensively at once, and doing so would not serve our national interests in the future."

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