On the 29th, Floor Leader Song Eon-seok of the People Power Party criticized, saying, "The KOSPI plunge and the surge in the exchange rate on Friday were greatly aided by President Lee Jae-myung's gaffe, on top of the failure in the tariff negotiations," adding, "At this point, the biggest driver of the Korea discount is 'the Lee Jae-myung risk.'"
That morning at the National Assembly, Floor Leader Song convened the first meeting of the Special Committee to Respond to the Lee Jae-myung Administration's Incompetent Diplomacy and Unqualified National Dignity, and strongly criticized President Lee Jae-myung's trip to the U.N. General Assembly in New York. Song noted, "President Lee's trip to New York was filled with a disastrous diplomatic debacle to the point that one wonders whether Korea even has a Ministry of Foreign Affairs."
Specifically, Floor Leader Song cited as a "debacle" the scene at the U.N. General Assembly where the president left his seat with only the interpreter remaining, and the scene at the New York Stock Exchange where the president said, "North Korea is continuing to produce fissile material enough to make about 15 to 20 nuclear weapons."
Showing a video of the president speaking in Korean and then leaving his seat while the interpreter delivered the translation, Floor Leader Song said, "That video, which shows only the interpreter's face looking at a loss, is posted on the U.N.'s official account," adding, "It is truly regrettable and devastating."
He added, "No one in the delegation stopped the president; everyone left all at once, and the interpreter was left all alone and translated the president's remarks," saying, "A situation of an interpreter being ostracized, ignorant of the basics of diplomatic protocol, has been permanently archived on the U.N.'s official account." Floor Leader Song criticized, "They installed the president's Judicial Research and Training Institute classmate and friend, who has no diplomatic expertise whatsoever, in the ambassadorship to the U.N., the very post that should have stopped the president—how could they possibly know what the problem was?"
Floor Leader Song also took issue with the president's address at the New York Stock Exchange. He said, "The president made the shocking remark that 'North Korea has secured enough nuclear weapons and is continuing to produce fissile material to make about 15 to 20 a year,'" adding, "North Korea's nuclear program is the biggest driver of the Korea discount, and as a result, the president went to the New York Stock Exchange and effectively promoted the Korea discount to the world."
Floor Leader Song said, "The KOSPI plunge and the surge in the exchange rate on Friday were greatly aided by President Lee Jae-myung's gaffe, on top of the failure in the tariff negotiations," adding, "At this point, the biggest driver of the Korea discount can be called 'the Lee Jae-myung risk.'"
He also downgraded the assessment of the U.S.-Korea tariff negotiations. As the United States has declared it will impose a 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals starting Oct. 1, Japan and the European Union, which concluded negotiations with the United States, will be subject to a 15% tariff rate. Floor Leader Song said, "At the end of Jul., Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom reportedly pledged that we would receive most-favored-nation treatment on pharmaceutical tariffs, yet competitor countries face a 15% tariff while Korea is subject to 100%. This requires an explanation."
Kim Ki-hyeon, chairperson of the Special Committee to Respond to the Lee Jae-myung Administration's Incompetent Diplomacy and Unqualified National Dignity, also criticized the U.S.-Korea tariff negotiations, saying, "I have no idea where the presidential office's announcement—that it was such a well-done negotiation that no written agreement was even necessary—has gone," calling it "an obvious fraud against the public."
Chairperson Kim said, "Despite what they said was such a well-done negotiation and a $350 billion investment pledge, the Lee Jae-myung government was blindsided by the United States, leading to a situation in which citizens of the Republic of Korea were collectively arrested and detained in the state of Georgia," adding, "I am truly concerned about what this administration's diplomatic stance is and whether it is conducting proper negotiations."