Choi Acting President: "Dispatching a Working-Level Delegation to the US... Maximizing Opportunity Factors in Shipbuilding and More"

Yonhap News

Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who also serves as Minister of Strategy and Finance, stated on the 21st regarding the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, "We have dispatched a working-level delegation to the United States to respond to the measures to be announced soon," adding that they will maximize the opportunities presented by the new U.S. administration while minimizing risks to strengthen economic stability.

Acting President Choi presided over a meeting on external economic issues at the Government Seoul Office and said, "We will closely monitor the actual content of policies such as upcoming executive orders and thoroughly reassess the impact of the new U.S. administration on our economy and the direction of our response."

Attendees at the meeting included Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun, Director-General for Trade Negotiations Jung In-kyo, and Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Bang Ki-seon.

Acting President Choi noted, "President Trump emphasized 'America First' once again in his inaugural address, highlighting the restructuring of the trade system, alleviation of inflationary pressures, and revival of traditional manufacturing industries." He added, "Although it is difficult to predict the specific impact of forthcoming executive orders on our economy, measures such as the establishment of the External Review System (ERS), expansion of tariff imposition, strengthening of protectionism, termination of Green New Deal policies, and abolition of mandatory electric vehicle purchases are expected to have direct and indirect effects on our economy."

He continued, "We have dispatched a working-level delegation to Washington, D.C. to respond to the measures to be announced soon," and stated, "We will communicate with the U.S. side."

Acting President Choi also said, "We are pursuing a phone call with President Trump at the earliest opportunity, and will actively develop high-level communication between the two countries, including between the foreign and trade ministers." Regarding planned contacts and cooperation measures from the business sector toward the U.S., he said, "The government will provide active support."

He emphasized, "The government will maximize the opportunities and minimize the risks of the new U.S. administration to strengthen economic stability," and added, "We will actively utilize opportunities for economic cooperation between the two countries, such as cooperation in the shipbuilding industry, which President Trump has shown interest in."

Acting President Choi concluded, "Based on the strong Korea-U.S. alliance, we will make every effort to usher in a new phase of economic, diplomatic, and security cooperation between the two countries," emphasizing, "As we have expanded cooperation across all fields including diplomacy, defense, supply chains, and advanced technology over the past 70 years based on mutual trust, we will further strengthen policy coordination and promote mutual benefits between the two countries based on the shared value of the Korea-U.S. alliance, 'We go together.'"