The People Power Party criticized Prime Minister Kim Min-seok's remark in a U.S. media interview that investment in the United States is impossible until the visa issue for Korean workers is resolved, calling it "anti-American agitation."
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk said at an on-site Supreme Council meeting held at the Daejeon city party on the morning of the 25th, "Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said in a Bloomberg interview that there will be no U.S. investment until the visa issue is resolved, and that without a currency swap, a $350 billion investment would be difficult," adding, "The prime minister is blackmailing the United States."
He went on, "It seems clear that Prime Minister Kim shifted his stance to anti-American agitation because the tariff negotiations did not go well," adding, "The visa issue and the currency swap are ultimately matters of trust in the government of the Republic of Korea."
Jang said, "At a time when the government of the Republic of Korea should be considering how to restore trust in Korea-U.S. relations, how to solve the problems, and how to wrap up the tariff negotiations, the public will be appalled that the prime minister is making such irresponsible remarks," adding, "He should first clean up the aftermath of the miserable tariff negotiations in which he admitted failure himself."
He continued, "President Lee mentioned normalization of exchanges and denuclearization with North Korea at the United Nations, and there were only a bunch of remarks about wanting to get along well with North Korea," adding, "The United States, which rejected a currency swap with Korea, first offered a currency swap to Argentina. The fact that the president is Lee Jae-myung and the prime minister is Kim Min-seok is the biggest risk facing the Republic of Korea right now."
Jang also said, "Because the tariff negotiations with the United States were not properly concluded, the burden on our corporations and the public has snowballed," adding, "The People Power Party will stand by the people and fight against the incompetence of the Lee Jae-myung administration and the arrogance of the Democratic Party of Korea."
In an interview with Bloomberg in the United States released that day, Prime Minister Kim said, "If the visa issue is not resolved, meaningful progress in investment in the United States is virtually impossible," adding, "There is a mood not only within the negotiating team but also among the public that it is difficult to accept the U.S. investment demands."