The Blue House clarified that the letter sent by the United States to the Korean government two weeks ago is not directly related to the reason for the tariff increase.
On the afternoon of the 27th, the Blue House issued a press release stating, "The main content of the letter sent by the U.S. side to the Minister of Science and ICT and others was to request that American companies not be discriminated against on digital issues."
It also drew a clear line, saying, "There is no direct connection with President Donald Trump's remarks today." On this day, President Trump stated on his social networking service (SNS) account, "The Korean National Assembly has not carried out the legal procedures necessary to implement the Korea-U.S. trade agreement," and announced that he would raise tariffs to 25%.
According to government sources, James Heller, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Korea, sent a letter on the 13th to Baek Kyunghoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT, as the primary recipient. The letter reportedly called for the fulfillment of the promise to "not discriminate against U.S. big tech companies in their business operations in Korea compared to domestic companies." This was one of the key points discussed at the Korea-U.S. summit held in Gyeongju last year.
The Blue House also stated, "The government has repeatedly explained to the U.S. side through various channels that Korea's digital-related legislation and measures do not discriminate against American companies," and "The Blue House and relevant ministries are sharing updates in real time on recent U.S. trends regarding trade issues through various meetings and are discussing response measures."
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