South Korea’s government appeared to be blindsided last week as Donald Trump accused Seoul of “not living up” to a bilateral trade deal concluded in October, and announced a new 25% tariff on Korean imports.
The Asian nation has yet to ratify the US trade agreement in the National Assembly. The legal step, expected in late February or early March, was considered a formality as South Korea had signaled readiness to accept tariffs of 15% on a range of its most critical exports to the US, including cars and pharmaceuticals.
South Korea had also committed to investing $350 billion (nearly €297 billion) in the US in return for the 15% tariff rate.
With Trump flipping the table yet again, analysts warn of a growing sense of discontent with the US in the allied country, which could motivate Seoul to forge closer trade and economic ties with other nations, including China.
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In another move that has been perceived as aggressive and unfriendly in Seoul, the US Treasury Department placed the won, South Korea’s currency, on its monitoring list for possible manipulation last week.
Dealing with Trump ‘undoubtedly burdensome’
The South Korean government has been scrambling to arrange meetings with key officials in the US administration to explain the ratification process.
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Tuesday, but it remains unclear whether the US administration will be swayed.
“For the Korean government, dealing with an individual like Trump — who operates outside predictable institutional norms — is undoubtedly burdensome,” said Hyobin Lee, a professor at Sogang University in Seoul. “He is not always logical and is highly unpredictable, which makes him difficult to trust.”
At the same time, considering any major power that can exert influence on South Korea — such as the US, China, Russia and Japan — Lee warned that: “None of them are easy counterparts.”
“In such circumstances, it is certainly frustrating that even the United States — long regarded as our ally — is behaving this way,” she told DW.
The frustration is shared by many in South Korea, although the administration of President Lee Jae Myung has refrained from direct criticism of Washington’s policies.
An editorial published in the English-language Korea JoongAng Daily this week was less circumspect, declaring that the Trump administration “shows little regard for allies” and that the issue “has become constant.”
“Since the start of the year, Korea-US relations have resembled a walk on thin ice across a range of trade and security issues,” it added.
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Seoul and Washington are also at odds over Coupang Inc., a technology and online retail company that is headquartered in Seattle and has been expanding rapidly in South Korea. In November, the Korean arm of the company confirmed that the personal data of nearly 34 million customers had been leaked, including phone numbers and email addresses.
The disclosure has led to intense scrutiny from Korean regulators and the resignation of subsidiary CEO Park Dae-jun, who was replaced by Harold Rogers from the company’s US base.
Park was questioned by police on Tuesday on suspicion of perjury during a National Assembly hearing in December, while Rogers was interviewed for 12 hours last Friday on suspicion of destroying evidence linked to the data breach.
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The case has become particularly controversial as senior US officials have criticized the Korean investigation, prompting suspicions that Washington is attempting to strong-arm a legitimate probe.
The day after Trump announced he was raising tariffs on South Korean goods, US Vice President JD Vance warned South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok against “penalizing” Coupang and other US tech firms.
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An editorial in the English-language Korea Times published on January 30 was critical of Vance’s remarks, describing it as “a troubling escalation.”
“Framed publicly as a call to avoid ‘discriminatory’ treatment of US companies, the intervention appears, upon closer inspection, to be a blunt attempt to shield a powerful corporation from legitimate law enforcement,” the article stated.
Sogang University’s Lee said many Koreans have been angered by the US’ attitude toward the country. Commenting on the controversy surrounding Coupang’s Rogers, Lee said the interim CEO had “delayed proceedings and repeatedly gave evasive answers, displaying what many perceived as an arrogant attitude.”
Seeing Rogers answer questions of South Korean lawmakers in parliament led many viewers to conclude that his demeanor “appeared dismissive — almost as if representatives of a country like Korea were beneath his consideration, and as though profit alone mattered,” she said.
“Many citizens likely felt both anger and despair.”
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Park Jung-won, a professor of law at South Korea’s Dankook University, agrees that “Korean people have been stunned by Trump’s aggressive style of diplomacy, even towards America’s allies,” although he also lays some of the blame at Seoul’s door.
“I believe the Lee administration has not hurried the legislation to formalize the tariffs because they were hoping that the US Supreme Court would rule that Trump does not have the authority to impose them,” he told DW.
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“I think it is very possible that Korea has been trying to delay the decision, which now leaves Lee in a very difficult position,” he added. “The 15% tariffs was bad enough, but to now have that at 25% is going to cause serious problems for many Korean companies.”
Edited by: Darko Janjevic
