“The government will convey its commitment to implementing the deal to the U.S. side,” South Korean presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.
Trump did not specify how soon the tariff hike could take place. The White House provided no additional details about the timing for the tariffs when reached by The Epoch Times on Tuesday.
The U.S. Department of Commerce also did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
In his Monday tariff announcement, Trump said South Korea’s legislature had not yet moved to implement a deal he and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung had reached in July and reaffirmed on Oct. 29. That deal was set to cap U.S. tariffs on South Korean goods and see the Asian nation invest $350 billion in the United States.
South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party submitted legislation to implement the trade deal with the United States in November.
Kim Hyun-jung, a South Korean Democratic Party spokesperson, on Tuesday said five bills are before the legislative National Assembly and have bipartisan support from the People Power Party, which is currently the second-largest party in the legislature and the main opposition party.
The South Korean Democratic Party spokesperson said the party looked forward to bipartisan cooperation with the People Power Party.
In a separate statement, People Power Party spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon criticized the current South Korean presidency for entering into the trade agreement without sufficiently addressing the necessary steps to ratify the agreement.
“Since the Korea–U.S. tariff agreement was signed, the People Power Party has repeatedly emphasized that National Assembly ratification must take precedence, given its significant impact on national finances, key industries, and trade sovereignty. However, the ruling party has staunchly ignored National Assembly ratification,” Choi said.
In addition to delays in ratifying the trade deal in the National Assembly, Seoul has also signaled concerns about trying to meet its investment obligations under the deal. South Korea originally committed to pay $200 billion of the $350 billion in phased cash installments capped at $20 billion a year.
Seoul’s hesitation to proceed with the investment coincides with concerns over its potential effect on the value of South Korea’s won currency.
The won-to-dollar exchange rate has recently fallen to a low that South Korea’s currency hadn’t seen since the global financial crisis from 2007 to 2009.
Choi called for the South Korean government to “immediately open emergency consultation channels with the United States to minimize the scope and impact of the tariff hikes and develop effective support measures for industries expected to be affected.”
