Opposition Slams Trump’s Unilateral Announcement: "Lee Administration Incompetent and Submissive... Requires National Assembly Approval"

On October 1, the People Power Party responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral announcement that Korea has agreed to invest in the Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, stating, "The Lee Jaemyung administration must reveal the full details of the negotiation that deceived the public through incompetent and submissive diplomacy," and added, "Strictly adhere to the National Assembly's consent procedures."

Members of the National Assembly’s Planning and Finance Committee and the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, all affiliated with the People Power Party, held a press conference on the morning of the same day, saying, "Did the government negotiate the specific investment amount with the U.S. side and yet present it to the National Assembly as still under review, or did the U.S. announce, unilaterally, a figure that Korea never agreed to?"

Earlier, on September 30 (local time), President Trump announced that, as part of its investment in the United States, Korea had agreed to invest approximately $50 billion (about 68 trillion won) in the Alaska LNG project. This has gone a step further than the fact sheet statement that Korea would "begin discussions on the condition of commercial reasonableness and fulfillment of all domestic legal requirements."

The lawmakers went on to say, "If the government held discussions with the United States but claimed to the National Assembly that the matter was still only under review, this would be a serious act of deceiving both the public and the National Assembly, and a gross violation of our national interest. Conversely, if the U.S. president unilaterally announced this without sufficient discussion or consent from our side, it would constitute a grave diplomatic blunder."

They further stated, "The government must immediately release information on whether it was aware of or had discussed and consented to the investment amount announced by the U.S." They added, "The People Power Party will never tolerate any form of submissive diplomacy in which the Korean people’s tax money becomes campaign funds for a foreign leader or any act that undermines our national interest and sovereignty."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.