President Lee Jae-myung said on the 24th (local time) regarding the U.S.'s demand for 'additional opening of the agricultural and livestock products market,' which had been excluded from previous trade negotiations, 'It is not desirable to easily overturn or change what has already been agreed upon.' This implies that it would be difficult to accept the U.S.'s insistence on expanding the import of American rice and beef even at the summit with President Donald Trump on the 25th. The issue of opening the agricultural and livestock market was a core agenda in the Korea-U.S. trade talks last month, where conflicting results announced by the Presidential Office and the White House sparked controversy.
President Lee held an unplanned press conference for about 50 minutes with reporters on the Air Force One while heading from Japan to the U.S. He responded to a question about whether the additional opening of the agricultural and livestock products market demanded by the U.S. could be used as a bargaining chip for reducing tariffs on automobiles, saying, 'The details have been mutually approved by the presidents of Korea and the U.S., and it's not proper for us to say we will easily change that unilaterally.'
President Lee noted, 'There is certainly a perspective on the U.S. side that the existing negotiation results are only favorable to Korea, leading to demands for changes from various U.S. departments.' However, he emphasized, 'Our basic stance is that those issues were all discussed at the time of the trade negotiations and a significant agreement was already made and announced directly by the U.S. president.'
He further stated, 'In any negotiation, the aim is to maximize national interests by making demands favorable to oneself.' He added, 'From our standpoint, we also try to raise new agendas favorable to Korea, or, though it's not easy, make efforts to alter existing agreements to our advantage. Nonetheless, we believe it's not desirable to alter an agreement that has already been made.'
◇ U.S. demands rice and beef market opening even after trade agreement
There is a possibility that the additional opening of the agricultural and livestock market will be reintroduced at the Korea-U.S. summit at the request of the U.S. The mere discussion of this issue by Trump poses a significant burden on our government. After concluding the trade negotiations on the 31st last month, the two countries announced conflicting results regarding the opening of the rice market and investment in the U.S. The Presidential Office and the White House had opposing announcements during official briefings on whether the market would be opened or on the U.S.'s unilateral announcement of the investment revenue distribution ratio. In this context, President Lee clearly stated a 'no change' stance.
Earlier, White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated in a briefing, 'The South Korean delegation met President Trump at the White House yesterday and concluded negotiations,' adding, 'Korea will pay a 15% tariff and provide historic market access to American goods like autos and rice.' This is consistent with President Trump's earlier social media post claiming 'Korea will completely open its market to American products such as cars, trucks, and agricultural products.'
On the contrary, Kim Yong-beom, Policy Chief of the Presidential Office, announced on the same day, 'Considering food security and the sensitivity of our agriculture, it was agreed not to further open the domestic rice and beef markets.' This contradicts Trump's mention of 'completely open.' When the controversy arose, Kang Yoo-jung, Spokesperson of the Presidential Office, reiterated on the 4th of this month, 'There is no additional opening for the rice market,' stating, 'There were differences in understanding each other's interests and recognitions in detailed requirements.'
Regarding this, Wi Sung-rak, Head of the National Security Office, mentioned in a press conference at the Presidential Office on the 22nd, 'The opening of the agricultural and livestock market is one of the issues in the ongoing trade negotiations between Korea and the U.S.' He added, 'We are addressing it with the same stance as before.' He stated that based on U.S. demands, the negotiations regarding agriculture and livestock are still ongoing, noting, 'The reason this issue is still under discussion is due to the U.S. raising it, but our position remains unchanged.'