The National Assembly's Finance and Economic Planning Committee held a plenary session on Sept. 22 and received the advance briefing on U.S. investment under the "Special Act on the Operation and Management of Strategic Investment Between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America." The government shared the main details of the projects with the Assembly before beginning consultations with Washington on the investment. At the government's request, however, the briefing was held behind closed doors. The Assembly had previously postponed the U.S. investment briefing, originally scheduled for Sept. 17, to that day.
Rep. Bae Joon-young of the People Power Party, the opposition floor manager on the committee, said in a procedural remark, "People Power Party members firmly reject the intention of the government and the ruling party to treat today's briefing as a mere rite of passage." He added, "There is no one in this world who can judge the commercial rationality of a $200 billion U.S. investment project through just two hours of questions and answers today."
"The government's slapdash handling of the process effectively nullifies the Assembly's right to review and means it intends to do as it pleases," he said. "In the end, the damage will be borne entirely by state finances and future generations."
He continued, "It would be even more unacceptable for the two governments to treat the implementation of this project as a fait accompli after today's briefing to the Assembly," adding, "I hope the chairman will confirm once again that today's briefing is merely a precondition for pushing ahead with the projects reported."
In response, Rep. Cho Seung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea, who chairs the committee, said, "The $200 billion, $150 billion and $350 billion in U.S. investment involve taxpayers' money and national assets." He added, "There is no disagreement that the government's briefing must be substantive enough to clearly persuade the Assembly."
Cho said he would distinguish, project by project, between matters requiring a report to the Assembly and those requiring its consent, and would thoroughly verify whether each project is commercially rational. "I also do not want the briefing to the Assembly to become a perfunctory or formalistic procedure," he said. "Today's briefing is the first one, and we will discuss whether additional verification or review is needed and take follow-up steps through consultations between the two parties' floor managers and the government."
Lee Hyoung-il, the newly appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs and finance and economy minister, attended the session for the first time after his confirmation hearing. "Recent indicators show the economy in good shape, but uncertainties such as geopolitical risks and the semiconductor cycle remain high," Lee said. "As deputy prime minister for economic affairs, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility and will communicate actively with the Assembly." On the U.S. investment negotiations and the briefing to the Assembly, he said, "I will do my utmost with a grave sense of responsibility."
