"Korea and the U.S. Make Conflicting Claims on Semiconductor Tariffs
Disagreements Over Market Opening in Sensitive Sectors
Top Achievements Driven by the Private Sector
'Do Not Steal Credit for the Kkanbu Meeting's Success'"
Na Kyungwon, a member of the People Power Party, emphasized that the supply of 260,000 GPUs from Nvidia to Korea should not be credited to President Lee Jaemyung, but rather to the achievements of the meeting between Chung Euisun and Lee Jayong, which she referred to as the "Kkanbu Chicken Gathering."
She also raised questions about whether a true agreement had been reached, pointing out that despite the summit between President Donald Trump and President Lee Jaemyung, there was no joint statement or fact sheet issued by the two countries.
Na Kyungwon, a member of the People Power Party, is speaking at the 2025 Legislation and Judiciary Committee National Assembly audit held at the National Assembly on the 20th of last month. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
On the 3rd, through her social media account, Na stated, "The reality is that even after APEC and the Korea-U.S. summit, there is not a single joint statement, joint press conference, or joint fact sheet between the two countries," and urged, "President Lee Jaemyung and the Democratic Party should now transparently and clearly disclose the details of the negotiations to the public."
She also mentioned discrepancies between the statements from the presidential office and the United States. While the U.S. Secretary of Commerce said, "Semiconductor tariffs are not included in the agreement," the presidential office claimed, "We have agreed to terms that are no less favorable than those given to Taiwan." In addition, while the government claimed to have defended against further opening of sensitive markets such as rice and beef, the U.S. emphasized that "Korea agreed to 100% market opening."
She reported that there are also differences between the two countries regarding the specific scale of investments. Na said, "The Korean government only explained an annual investment of 20 billion dollars, a cash investment of 200 billion dollars, 150 billion dollars in shipbuilding cooperation, and 350 billion dollars in payments to the United States. However, President Trump and U.S. media claim that Korea will invest 950 billion dollars," which is approximately 1,330 trillion won. She pointed out, "This is nearly three times the 350 billion dollars announced by the Korean government."
She continued, "It is interpreted that Korean companies are being made to invest an additional 600 billion dollars, but the government is not properly disclosing this part. There are concerns about Korea being at a disadvantage compared to Japan and the EU, and even about the hollowing out of Korean industry." She added, "While the government promotes the conclusion of the negotiations, all the burdens fall on the public and companies without the details being disclosed," and insisted that the specifics of the agreement must be clearly revealed.
Na also stressed that the greatest event and achievement at APEC came from the power of the private sector. She said, "The announcement that Nvidia will supply 260,000 GPUs to Korea came out of the 'Chimaek Kkanbu Gathering' of Jensen Huang, Lee Jayong, and Chung Euisun. To package this as an achievement of the Lee Jaemyung Democratic Party administration and deceive the public is fabrication of achievements," adding, "It is theft. Instead of the administration stealing the achievements of companies for its own self-praise, what matters is how to follow up after securing 260,000 GPUs."
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