Acting South Korean president bracing for Trump
Hwang Kyo-ahn raises concerns about president-elect’s criticisms of free trade agreement
By Kang Seung-woo
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, now serving as acting president, said the government is seeking measures to effectively handle growing uncertainties arising from the inauguration of the new administration in the US.
“There are concerns about possible renegotiations of the ROK-US free trade agreement (FTA) and the defence costs of the US Forces Korea (USFK) under the Donald Trump administration,” said Hwang in a parliamentary interpellation session.
“Regarding the two issues, the government is bracing for all possibilities and seeking ways to settle them through various diplomatic channels.”
Hwang, who took over after President Park Geun-hye was impeached on December 9th, attended the parliamentary session in a move to defuse growing tensions with the opposition parties over his leadership role after reversing an earlier position.
Hwang’s remarks came after the US president-elect strongly criticised his country’s trade pact with Korea and Seoul’s “free-ride on the US defence budget” on the campaign trail, vowing to renegotiate the deals if he was elected president.
“As far as I know, government officials contacted the Trump side more than 100 times during his election campaign and since then, we have cooperated with them,” Hwang said.