Jang Donghyuk: "Lee Jaemyung-Style Flip-Flopping Doesn't Work in Diplomacy... He Must Address the Tariff Issue Himself"

On January 29, Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, commented on U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks regarding the reimposition of tariffs on Korea, stating, "Lee Jaemyung-style flip-flopping will never work in diplomacy." He added, "President Lee Jaemyung should stop hiding behind his aides and step up to resolve this issue himself, even at this late stage."

Yonhap News

Attending the Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly that morning, Jang said, "The legislation cited by President Trump as the reason for the reimposition is just a pretext. Both the government and the ruling party must recognize that there are multiple complex reasons why the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations have returned to square one."

This Supreme Council meeting was the first held since Jang returned to party duties. He stated, "Domestically, issues like inflation and exchange rates are causing serious concern among the public, and now a major external problem has arisen. The Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations have essentially gone back to the starting point. Although there is supposedly still room for negotiation, the public is anxious about how this will unfold going forward."

Jang continued, "Even now, the Chief Policy Officer at the Presidential Office is blaming the 100% legislative (delay) on others, but if the Democratic Party, which holds an overwhelming majority of seats, had pushed the legislation as forcefully as it has other bills, it would already have passed. In reality, pro-government groups like the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Korean Peasants League have been actively opposing the legislation, leaving the government and ruling party paralyzed and delaying the process. Now, they are shifting the blame to others."

Jang further argued that the legislative delay in the National Assembly, cited by the U.S. as the reason for the tariff reimposition, is merely a pretext. "Last week, when Prime Minister Kim Minseok visited the U.S., the U.S. Vice President directly expressed concerns about the detention of Pastor Son Hyunbo and the Coupang incident. President Lee, during his recent visit to China, stated that he respects the 'One China' policy. These complex factors are all related to the tariff negotiations and must be kept in mind," he said.

Additionally, Jang stated, "The U.S. side expressed concern that the Lee Jaemyung administration is recklessly pushing forward with the Coupang incident and platform regulations, and those concerns have now become reality. With Lee Jaemyung-style flip-flopping, such as saying, 'We said we would invest $20 billion every year, and they actually believed we would,' it is impossible to conduct diplomacy."