Park Ji-won "US media report saying I intend to go with Lee Jae-myung... Seems to have understood the situation well"

"The Constitutional Court Must Make a Swift Decision on the Impeachment Trial"

Park Ji-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, commented on the tariff war triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump, stating, "Choi Sang-mok, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, has not even been able to speak with President Trump," and argued, "The Constitutional Court should quickly make a decision on the impeachment trial of President Yoon Seok-yeol and elect new leadership through an early presidential election."

On the 6th, on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Park said, "What is the Choi Sang-mok acting government doing right now? They are just sitting idle and waiting," adding, "The Constitutional Court must make a swift decision as soon as possible to resolve diplomatic issues with the U.S." He continued, "Once an early presidential election becomes visible, the U.S. will try to predict who the winner will be," emphasizing, "Good dialogue must be established that way. If things continue as they are, it will be a big problem. The Constitutional Court must quickly rule and bring about an early presidential election."

Donald Trump, President of the United States. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

He said, "There are recent Foreign Policy reports suggesting that the Trump administration has cut ties with internal rebellion forces and intends to work with the practical Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party. Also, Joseph Yun, the acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea, was sent to meet with Lee in January," evaluating, "From these, it seems the U.S. is well aware of the situation in Korea." On the 3rd of last month, the U.S. diplomatic magazine Foreign Policy published an article titled 'South Korea's conservatives are desperate to gain Trump's support,' analyzing that "Lee Jae-myung could be a better diplomatic ally for Trump."

Regarding concerns about additional tariffs on Korea, he said, "I believe Korea is still holding back on the issue of additional tariffs," and assessed, "Various matters have not been clearly addressed." He added, "The claim of 'four times the tariff' is not true, as even the Korean government has denied it. They will provide sufficient explanations," and noted, "Currently, negotiations with Canada on semiconductor support laws, batteries, automobiles, and other issues are being extended by another month, aren't they?"

In a congressional speech on the 4th, President Trump said, "Korea's average tariffs are four times higher than those of the U.S. We help Korea militarily and in many other ways, yet this is happening." This raised concerns that the U.S. might increase the defense cost-sharing burden for U.S. forces stationed in Korea or impose additional tariffs.