Kim Jong-in: "Businessman Trump... Tariff Policy Will Not Last Long"

Lecture on '2025 World and Korea' Held at Seoul National University on the 8th
"Trump's Tariff Policy, a Medium- to Long-Term Burden on the US"
"Korean Economy Resembles Early Stage of Japan's Lost 30 Years... Political Role Crucial"
"Presidential System Must Be Reformed"

"Trump is a businessman. Because his economic and so-called business capabilities are outstanding rather than political thinking, he will make all decisions from a business perspective. If he thinks that continuing a policy is disadvantageous to the United States, he has the ability to change it anytime."

Former Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is attending the 115th Win-Win Growth Forum held at Seoul National University Hoam Faculty House on the 8th, giving a lecture on the theme of '2025 World and Korea.' Photo by Park Jaehyun

Kim Jong-in, former Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party (Chairman of the Korea Development Strategy Institute), said this on the 8th during a lecture titled "The World and Korea in 2025" at the 115th Win-Win Growth Forum held at Seoul National University Hoam Faculty House. The Win-Win Growth Forum is an event organized by the Win-Win Growth Institute under the leadership of former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan. This forum was arranged to hear the wisdom of national elders amid the recent national crisis.

On that day, former Chairman Kim evaluated that the tariff policy of the second Trump administration would be difficult to sustain for a long time. He said, "Former U.S. President Donald Trump talks about pressuring China with tariff policies, but realistically, the U.S. and China have been closely interdependent for the past 30 years," adding, "Although Trump's tariff policy might temporarily boost U.S. growth rates, it will be very difficult to sustain in the mid to long term."

He continued, "If tariffs continue to be imposed, the burden will inevitably fall on the American people, which will become a problem within the U.S. itself," and added, "Americans re-elected Trump because of anxiety that America's status would decline, but how things will proceed in the future remains to be seen."

He expressed great concern that the Korean economy seems to be entering the early stage of Japan's lost 30 years. Former Chairman Kim said, "Seeing K-pop and K-culture being spotlighted internationally, I wonder if we are falling into the same illusion as Japan in the 1980s," adding, "At that time, Japan did not solve structural problems, and both companies and the political sphere failed to escape bureaucratization, leading to the lost 30 years."

He went on, "Our country is entering a super-aged society starting this year and is going through changes in the global economy, so to properly adapt, we must solidify our economic foundation internally," emphasizing, "The most important role in this lies with the political sphere."

He pointed out that the cause of the past International Monetary Fund (IMF) crisis was the political sphere's lack of awareness of the economic situation. Former Chairman Kim said, "If the president aims for an average annual growth rate of over 8%, like former President Park Chung-hee did, the easiest and most efficient measures would be to give all freedom to conglomerates or allow banks to lend," adding, "Without a leader who properly understands the country's situation and handles matters conscientiously and courageously, it will be very difficult to resolve the current situation."

During the lecture, former Chairman Kim also criticized the problems of the presidential system. He said, "The 1987 system is approaching 40 years, and when the constitution was amended at that time, everyone was only interested in direct elections and had no interest in how the constitutional system should be for the development of democracy," criticizing, "As a result, the current presidential culture was created, where the president holds overwhelming power by overseeing both the legislative and judicial branches, reminiscent of the Yushin era."

He added, "At that time, no one imagined that the opposition party would consecutively hold the majority as it does today," and said, "The current presidential system is not good for national development, so it is normal to change to a political system where the legislature and executive can be aligned."