U.S. President Donald Trump on the 26th said, "The Korean legislature is not honoring the agreement between Korea and the United States," adding, "We will raise all reciprocal tariffs on automobiles, lumber, pharmaceuticals and everything else from 15% to 25%." Trump also said, "President Lee Jae-myung and I made a great agreement for both countries on July 30, 2025, and I reaffirmed the terms when I was in Korea on Oct. 29, 2025," asking, "Why has the Korean legislature not approved the agreement?"
In response, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said it "will communicate with the U.S. government, including by explaining to the U.S. side the status of bill discussions in the Korean National Assembly going forward." Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy and Minister of Economy and Finance, is scheduled to meet that day with Lim Lee-ja, chairperson of the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee, to request cooperation on the Special Act on Investment in the United States.
Since late November last year, a total of five bills to enact the Special Act on Investment in the United States have been introduced in the National Assembly. Of these, four are Democratic Party bills and one is a People Power Party bill. All are effectively seeing no progress in discussions at the Strategy and Finance Committee.
A member of the Democratic Party leadership said, "The Special Act on Investment in the United States faces opposition from the opposition party, and the chairperson of the relevant standing committee is also from the opposition, so the ruling party alone cannot push it through," adding, "It is not easy to handle a bill that forces $20 billion in investment each year without a bipartisan agreement."
A Democratic Party lawmaker said, "The content of the Korea-U.S. agreement only went as far as introducing the bill, and there was no requirement on when the bill had to pass," adding, "We are following our normal deliberation procedures, so it is hard to understand that (President Trump) is completely disregarding this timeline."
Within the People Power Party, there are also arguments that the issue should be handled by ratifying the Korea-U.S. agreement in the National Assembly, rather than by enacting the Special Act on Investment in the United States. Floor leader Song Eon-seog said at a party policy meeting that day, "Responsibility for this entire situation lies with President Lee Jae-myung and the government, who concluded a major trade agreement requiring ratification by the National Assembly and have neglected the ratification process," adding, "To resolve this situation, we propose to meet swiftly with the government and the ruling party to put our heads together and consult."