Shin Junghoon: "Korea-US Tariff Agreement, an Achievement of Pragmatic Diplomacy"

Negotiations That Defended Food Sovereignty and Industrial Territory

Shin Junghoon, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker.

On July 31, following the announcement of the conclusion of the Korea-US tariff negotiations, the local political community unanimously expressed their "welcome," calling it "an achievement of pragmatic diplomacy that protected farmers."

Shin Jung-hoon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Naju and Hwasun in South Jeolla Province and Chair of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee), stated in a press release on the same day, "While some treated rice and Korean beef merely as numbers, some as gains and losses, and others as bargaining chips, we ultimately managed to protect them. Despite the difficult circumstances, including the United States' coercive demands, agitation from conservative media, and internal government deliberations, we endured and fought with the single conviction that agriculture could never be a bargaining chip."

He continued, "This negotiation is not so much a victory as it is the minimum courtesy owed to farmers and the responsibility of a government that upholds national sovereignty. What we have protected is not just simple items like rice and Korean beef, but the meals of our people, the safety of our communities, and the dignity of our nation."

Shin also said, "I was deeply moved by a brief remark from a farmer at a protest site in front of the US Embassy, who said, 'Thank you for protecting us.' This is the result of pragmatic diplomacy by the Lee Jaemyung administration, which, in its first appearance on the diplomatic stage, defended food sovereignty and the territory of our industry against the Trump administration's violent pressure for market opening."

Meanwhile, Shin added, "Going forward, I will continue to pursue politics that protect farmers and the people at the forefront of trade and diplomacy, ensuring that agriculture and the lives of our citizens are never marginalized at the negotiating table."