Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said regarding the outcome of talks on $350 billion (about 486 trillion won) in investment funds for the United States that "National Assembly approval may be necessary."
On the 16th, during a government question session on foreign affairs, unification and security at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Prime Minister Kim was asked by People Power Party lawmaker Bae Jun-young, "Do you believe National Assembly ratification and approval are necessary in relation to the investment funds for the United States?" and said, "When final negotiations proceed and a conclusion is reached, National Assembly approval may be necessary."
Prime Minister Kim added, "It is difficult to say uniformly," but also said, "Even if it is not in the form of a treaty requiring (National Assembly) consent, because the Constitution contains provisions that allow seeking National Assembly approval for matters that could impose a fiscal burden, if that is the case, I believe we must go through the process of requesting and obtaining National Assembly approval."
Minister Cho Hyun of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave a similar answer. Minister Cho said, "If there is content that imposes a burden on the public, our position is that we should of course come to the National Assembly to explain and seek approval, and we made this clear to the U.S. side as well."
Lawmaker Bae Jun-young said, "If you divide $350 billion by (Korea's) population of 51 million, it amounts to 9.4 million won per person," and pointed out, "The $500 billion scale of investment for the United States is an enormous sum, amounting to 14% of our gross domestic product (GDP)." The criticism is that the South Korea–U.S. tariff negotiations and the investment funds talks for the United States are proceeding in an unfavorable direction for us.
In response, Prime Minister Kim said, "The investment method and revenue distribution can be compared only after they are finally confirmed in negotiations," adding, "We are negotiating in a direction that benefits the national interest."
At the government question session that day, the opposition raised issues such as the Georgia detention incident and the outcome of the South Korea–U.S. tariff negotiations, criticizing the government's foreign policy. Lawmaker Bae criticized, "What the Lee Jae-myung administration calls practical diplomacy has gone beyond blunder diplomacy to become disappointing diplomacy," and People Power Party lawmaker Park Chung-kwon said, "On Sept. 4 was 'Korea's day of national disgrace in diplomacy,'" adding, "(The Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party) are boasting that this is an unprecedented success, but key issues such as North Korea's denuclearization, which is central to security cooperation, and the U.S. security commitment were not even mentioned."
From the ruling party came continued calls to demonstrate practical diplomacy. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee In-young said, "Public dissatisfaction has erupted, asking whether we have gone too far for the alliance," and added, "The United States must also change what should change and improve what should be improved." Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Young-bae also said, "Even in Japan, there are challenges to whether (the negotiation outcome) is fair," adding, "Now is the time to craft and show a truly proper strategy for practical diplomacy to protect the national interest promised to the public."