Lee Tae-woo, Former Consul General, Appointed as South Korea-US Defense Cost-Sharing Negotiation Representative... Early Start Officially Confirmed

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, and Ministry of Economy and Finance Form Delegation
Early Negotiations Begin Amid Possibility of Trump Re-election

Lee Tae-woo, 12th SMA Negotiation Representative (Photo by Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

The government announced on the 5th through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that it has appointed former Consul General Lee Tae-woo in Sydney as the chief negotiator for the conclusion of the 12th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost-sharing between South Korea and the United States, which will take effect from 2026.

Former Consul General Lee is a career diplomat who has served as head of the North Korea Nuclear Diplomacy Planning Division, counselor at the North America Bureau, and counselor at the Embassy in the United States. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that "he possesses experience and expertise across various fields of the Korea-US alliance."

The negotiation team is expected to be composed of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

With the appointment of the chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing talks, the early commencement of the next Korea-US SMA negotiations is regarded as official.

The SMA is an agreement that stipulates the amount South Korea will bear for the stationing costs of US Forces Korea. The 11th SMA, which applies for six years from 2020 to 2025, was concluded in 2021.

Since there are still about two years left until the expiration of the 11th SMA, many opinions suggest that the timing for starting negotiations for the next SMA is early.

Regarding this, there are criticisms that it may be in consideration of former US President Donald Trump's possible re-election in the upcoming US presidential election in November.

Previously, during his first term, former President Trump demanded that South Korea increase its contribution by more than five times. The agreement at that time repeatedly faced setbacks and was only concluded after the administration changed to President Joe Biden's.

However, the government maintains that the early start is unrelated to whether Trump returns to power. A senior Korean official who recently visited the US said, "Negotiations usually take more than a year," and added, "The timing is set regardless of the election, keeping the timeframe in mind."