People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok on 22nd held an on-site supreme council meeting for small and midsize businesses at the Gyeongsan industrial complex in North Gyeongsang and said, "After the U.S.-South Korea leaders met and negotiated tariffs, the government said it was such a successful negotiation that a joint statement was unnecessary, but President Lee Jae-myung said in an interview with Time that if he had signed a joint statement, he would have been impeached," adding, "This means (President Lee) effectively acknowledged that the tariff negotiations were a complete failure."
Jang said, "President Lee left for the United States today to attend the U.N. General Assembly, but there will be no meeting with President Trump," and added, "Corporations waiting with bated breath for the tariff negotiations to be concluded are burning up inside."
He explained, "The auto industry has already taken a serious hit, and the anxiety is even greater in the parts industry. Auto parts are also subject to a 25% tariff, but if auto parts are classified as steel, the tariff is 50%," adding, "To help corporations facing these difficulties, the People Power Party is introducing various bills and preparing alternatives."
People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok also said, "The tariff on cars exported to the United States has been reduced to 15% for Japan, but we are still paying a 25% tariff," adding, "If this situation drags on, Korea's auto parts companies will face a crisis of collapse, and the auto industry across North Gyeongsang centered on Gyeongsan will also be in a tough spot."
Floor leader Song said, "Doesn't what President Lee said in the Time interview mean the negotiations went completely wrong?" and stressed, "The presidential office staffer who told the public a blatant lie that the talks went so well that a joint statement was unnecessary, along with those responsible, must be dismissed immediately."
He added, "Efforts to manage approval ratings with clumsy anti-U.S. and anti-Trump agitation must be strictly avoided," and said, "It is more important to go back to basics and untangle the snarled tariff negotiations with the United States step by step."
Right after the on-site supreme council meeting, the People Power Party leadership visited Ilji Tech, an auto parts company in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang, to hear from the company. After the visit, Jang met with reporters and said, "Coming to the site, I felt that our corporations are really working hard, but the government is not properly backing them," adding, "Even now, remarks stoking anti-U.S. sentiment are pouring out, and there is concern that the government is trying to shift the tariff issue onto corporations and wash its hands of it."