January 29, 2026
SEOUL – Seoul believes US dissatisfaction with the pace of legislation needed to implement South Korea’s investment commitments is a key factor behind US President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariff hikes, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday.
“Ultimately, we see US dissatisfaction as being 100 percent attributable to (slower-than-expected) legislation at the National Assembly, and Washington has conveyed the same view,” Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, said during a press briefing.
Kim further explained that, from Washington’s perspective, a broad tariff agreement was first reached on July 30, reaffirmed at the Gyeongju summit on Oct. 29, and later outlined in a joint fact sheet. The US has thus seen little progress since the July 30 deal.
Trump said that he would increase tariffs on South Korean automobiles, lumber and pharmaceuticals as well as other “reciprocal” tariffs from 15 percent to 25 percent in a Truth Social post on Monday. Trump claimed in the post that the increase was “because the Korean Legislature hasn’t enacted our Historic Trade Agreement, which is their prerogative.”
Trump appeared to be referring to the Special Act on Managing Korea-US Strategic Investments, which was introduced by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea on Nov. 26, 2025. The bill aims to facilitate South Korea’s $350 billion in US-bound investment in the joint fact sheet and memorandum of understanding on strategic investment announced by the allies on Nov. 14, 2025.
Following standard legislative procedure, the bill was placed in a deliberation period after it was referred to the Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee the following day.
“From the US perspective, they understand that South Korea has submitted the bill and that the process for Korea-US investment commitments can begin only after the bill is reviewed by the National Assembly,” Kim said. “But they appear to think that the pace of the bill’s progress — its review in the Assembly and the overall procedure — has been slower than Washington expected.”
Kim said the Lee Jae Myung administration would do its best to ensure the bill is substantively discussed in the National Assembly in February.
Asked whether the government could begin a preliminary review before the bill is passed, Kim said it would need to consider whether there is any way to move forward with an initial assessment even ahead of the legislation’s enactment.
“Even before the bill passes, we need to consider whether there is a way to conduct at least a preliminary review,” he said.
Kim cautioned, however, that a full-scale review would require personnel and budget, making it difficult to go into the details before the bill clears the Assembly.
“That may have contributed to frustration on the US side,” Kim said. “We hope it will be handled in February through a bipartisan agreement, and the government will also do its part.”
South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jung-kwan, who is currently in Canada, will visit the US on Wednesday to discuss the matter with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo is also set to travel to the US soon for talks with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
“The government has been preparing from the outset for the February session,” Kim told reporters. “Because legislation is required, we will explain in detail to the US side the steps we are taking with the National Assembly to move the process forward.”
Kim also said the recent letter from the US Embassy in Seoul was “entirely unrelated” to Trump’s Truth Social post.
James Heller, charge d’affaires ad interim at the US Embassy in Seoul, sent a Jan. 13 letter to Deputy Prime Minister and Science and ICT Minister Bae Kyung-hoon, urging Seoul to swiftly implement follow-up measures tied to trade provisions in the joint fact sheet.
The Herald Business and The Korea Herald learned the letter cited a joint fact sheet clause committing both sides to ensure US companies face no discrimination or unnecessary barriers in Korea’s digital-service rules, including network usage fees and platform regulations.
On the possibility of actual tariff hikes, Kim said, “Because tariff hikes involve concrete administrative steps, including publication in the Federal Register, they cannot happen right away.”
“That is why an agreement is necessary to prevent such a situation.”
Meanwhile, Greer cited South Korea’s failure to implement the trade provisions of the joint fact sheet as a factor behind Trump’s warning of possible tariff hikes.
“We implemented our portion where we modified our tariff rates,” the US top trade negotiator said, referring to the tariff reduction from 25 percent to 15 percent during his interview with Fox News on Tuesday. “They have not executed their part; they haven’t implemented.”
Greer also noted that “they haven’t been able to get a bill through to do the investment. They’ve introduced new laws on digital services.
“So, it’s hard to continue to hold up our end of the bargain while they have not moved forward swiftly enough on their end.”