South Korean President Lee Jae-myung warned that South Korea’s economy could face a crisis comparable to the 1997 collapse if the government accepts current U.S. demands, amid stalled trade talks between the two sides.
Seoul and Washington had verbally agreed in July on a trade deal under which the U.S. would reduce tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump on South Korean goods, in exchange for $350 billion worth of investments from South Korea, among other measures.
The South Korean president noted that “the agreement has not been signed due to disagreements on how to manage the investments,” stressing that “without a currency swap, if we withdraw $350 billion in the way the U.S. demands and invest all of it in cash in the United States, South Korea will face a situation similar to the 1997 financial crisis.”
