Kim Min-seok, leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 2nd that Seoul will work to ensure South Korea's investment projects in the United States maintain "the commercial rationality our side has consistently emphasized throughout the implementation process."
Speaking at a party supreme council meeting at the National Assembly, Kim said the government and the party "will continue to monitor the outcome of these negotiations to ensure they translate into growth for the national economy and stronger competitiveness for our companies." He added that investment in the U.S. is "both a diplomatic matter and an economic security matter," and said he expects the talks to deepen cooperation between the two countries across trade, diplomacy and security.
Kim also made clear that indiscriminate attacks from the opposition do not serve the national interest. "We will humbly accept constructive criticism raised by the opposition and discuss it actively," he said. "But on investment projects where major national interests are at stake, the indiscriminate disclosure of confidential negotiation details or baseless political attacks will ultimately damage our national interest and weaken our negotiating position. We hope for patriotic cooperation from the opposition."
On the launch of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and the Public Prosecution Office the same day, Kim said the party "will swiftly overhaul and establish the relevant laws and organizational structures so that the new criminal justice system can take root." He said police reform would also be accelerated. "We will raise the investigative capacity of the police and systematize checks and controls over police investigations," he said, pledging to "swiftly root out abuses such as shielding one's own, burying cases, closing cases without authorization, concealing and fabricating evidence, leaking investigative information and violating personal data."
