Kim Yong-beom "Tariff negotiations conducted with APEC in mind… currency swap is a necessary condition"

"No sacrifice of principles under deadline pressure"

"Must derive mutually beneficial results"

Presidential Office Policy Chief Kim Yong-beom said on the 24th (local time) regarding the Korea-U.S. tariff follow-up negotiations that "we do not have a separate deadline," while adding that "we are negotiating with a Korea-U.S. summit during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) period in mind."

The Presidential Office, under the principle of prioritizing national interest, set the APEC summit as the primary goal for concluding the negotiations, but reiterated that excessive demands cannot be accepted. It is also maintaining a position that additional opening of rice and beef cannot be discussed.

Kim, the policy chief, explained at a briefing at the press center for reporters covering the U.N. General Assembly in New York, U.S., that "we are negotiating with the principle that the measures must conform to commercial rationality, be tolerable for our country, align with national interest, and be a way to produce mutually beneficial results between Korea and the U.S."

He also emphasized, "We will not sacrifice such principles because of a negotiation deadline." He added, "The next important occasion is the Gyeongju APEC," saying, "There will of course be meetings or talks between the two heads of state, and because the negotiation team sees such an international event as an important opportunity, it is negotiating with that in mind."

Regarding disagreements over the detailed plan of the U.S.-directed $35 million investment fund, Kim said, "When we initially agreed at the end of July, we understood it as a $350 billion sailing limit, and in view of common international investment practices and precedents, items such as loans (loan) or guarantees (payment guarantees) were expected to be considered as investments," adding, "It was written down in the initial understanding often called a memorandum, but the document the U.S. later sent as an MOU contained content that was strikingly different."

He added, "The impact it would have on our foreign exchange market naturally came to mind, and that is the matter we are pointing out to the United States," and said, "In the case of an unlimited currency swap, if the United States claims cash flow, it is a necessary condition."

"Furthermore, if that does not happen, the shock to our country would be too great, so unless that issue is resolved, it is a necessary condition that we cannot proceed further," he said.

However, the surprise meeting that day between President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent partly opened the possibility that future negotiations could accelerate.

Kim said, "Because the president directly explained those points in detail to Secretary Bessent, the minister in charge of issues concerning the foreign exchange market, I see today's meeting as a major watershed in the subsequent negotiations over the $350 billion investment package," and said, "I think today's meeting has very great significance."

Regarding U.S. pressure to open the rice and beef markets, Kim said, "We are making it clear that we cannot engage in deep discussions on the rice and beef areas that we call our red lines," and added, "Even substantial progress on non-tariff barriers in the trade field does not include those contents at all."

Ko Jeong-sam Hankyung.com reporter jsk@hankyung.com