The People Power Party submitted, as a party line, a request for a parliamentary investigation into the forced detention incident in Georgia, United States, and the South Korea–U.S. tariff agreement.
On the 16th, the People Power Party said, "To get to the bottom of the Lee Jae-myung administration's diplomatic fiasco, we are submitting, as a party line, two requests for a parliamentary investigation: one on the forced detention incident in the state of Georgia in the United States and another on suspicions related to the South Korea–U.S. tariff agreement." Kim Geon, the secretary of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, and Park Sung-min, the secretary of the Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee, attended as submitters.
The Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's investigation request dealing with the forced detention incident in Georgia included the statement, "The government has failed to properly clarify anything—such as the cause and background of the (Georgia) incident, the scale of damage, and measures to prevent recurrence—thereby heightening public anxiety," and the Trade. Industry Energy. SMEs. and Startups Committee's request addressing the South Korea–U.S. tariff agreement included, "Concerns are being raised that (the South Korea–U.S. tariff talks) could deliver a major shock to the Korean economy, beyond exchange-rate issues and rising economic uncertainty."
The People Power Party labeled the Georgia forced detention incident and the South Korea–U.S. tariff agreement as a diplomatic fiasco of the Lee Jae-myung administration and concentrated its firepower. Kim Do-eup, the People Power Party's policy committee chair, said, "As follow-up talks on South Korea–U.S. tariffs surrounding a $350 billion fund for investment in the United States have stalled, starting on the 16th, tariffs on Korean-made cars exported to the United States are being levied 10 percentage points higher than on Japanese cars," adding, "The reversal in car prices between South Korea and Japan that the auto industry feared has become reality. Exports are now under an emergency."
Kim said, "The bigger problem is that there is not even a visible solution to lead the tariff talks to success. In the meantime, a sense of crisis is spreading across exports beyond the auto industry," and pointed out, "The progress of the tariff talks should also be explained to the public honestly and in detail."
Deputy floor policy chief Kim Eun-hye also said, "Three weeks ago, the presidential office congratulated itself, saying it was 'such a good negotiation that even a written agreement wasn't necessary.' What came back from that 'good negotiation' was a tariff bomb," adding, "They failed in the talks but deceived the public to boost approval ratings in the short term."
The opposition parties also plan to continue their offensive on the Georgia forced detention incident and the South Korea–U.S. tariff agreement during the National Assembly's interpellation session with the government this afternoon. In the afternoon, interpellations on foreign affairs, unification, and security will take place.