Political circles are offering differing interpretations regarding the first Korea-U.S. summit between President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. President Donald Trump. The ruling party has positively evaluated the strengthening of cooperation between the two leaders, while the People Power Party criticized it as a 'diplomatic disaster.'
President Lee Jae-myung and President Trump held a summit meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on the 25th (local time). This was the first Korea-U.S. summit since President Lee took office.
Both ruling and opposition parties expressed completely opposite views regarding the Korea-U.S. summit. The ruling party praised President Lee Jae-myung's thorough preparations. Kim Byeong-ki, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, noted at a National Assembly countermeasure meeting on the 26th that they 'discussed a broad range of topics including the modernization of the Korea-U.S. alliance, stabilization of economic trade, and pioneering new areas of cooperation' during the summit.
He added that 'the leaders of the two countries reaffirmed their willingness to cooperate in the shipbuilding energy sector and agreed on ideas for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula,' and 'the signing of a total of 11 contracts and MOUs by corporations in both countries in sectors such as shipbuilding, nuclear energy, aviation, LNG, and critical minerals is a significant achievement.'
Jeong Cheong-rae, the leader of the Democratic Party, stated on Facebook that 'President Lee Jae-myung's quote about being a peacemaker is a strategic remark and a highly commendable display of his skills as a negotiator,' adding that 'Trump's immediate excitement to meet Kim Jong-un this year could be a major outcome of this summit.'
He continued, 'If President Trump's dialogue with North Korea is achieved, there will be significant advancements in inter-Korean relations, U.S.-North Korea relations, and Korea-U.S. relations in terms of political, military, and economic aspects,' and 'President Lee demonstrated the ingenuity of a negotiator through his very strategic choice of words.'
On the other hand, the opposition party criticized the meeting. Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, remarked that 'everything from the absence of a chief protocol officer to President Trump's recent comments about purges before the meeting indicates that this summit can be termed a monumental diplomatic disaster,' and added, 'It remains unclear what we gained besides taking photos while bowing to President Trump in a humiliating manner.'
Floor leader Song criticized, 'The opening of agricultural and livestock products has not been clearly organized, and regarding steel, aluminum, and semiconductors, there is still no information on what the tariff rates will be,' and stated, 'It can only be described as a humiliating diplomatic failure, given that corporations have offered to bring in an additional $150 billion in investments.'