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Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol answers questions from lawmakers during the parliamentary audit of the finance ministry at the National Assembly in Seoul on October 13. / Source: Yonhap News

Ruling and opposition lawmakers clashed Monday over South Korea’s ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States during a parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, exchanging sharp words over the Lee Jae-myung administration’s trade strategy and its economic performance.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) labeled the Lee administration’s negotiations a “fraud against the public” and a “botched deal,” while the opposition Democratic Party (DP) countered that the responsibility lies with the previous Yoon Suk-yeol government.

PPP Rep. Choi Eun-seok criticized the administration, saying, “The government is patting itself on the back for what it calls a successful negotiation that doesn’t even require a written agreement, yet our companies are now saddled with high tariffs due to this disastrous trade diplomacy.”

Rep. Park Soo-young added, “The $350 billion figure demanded by the U.S. amounts to 84.5% of our foreign reserves. The negotiations are a complete failure,” pressing the finance ministry to submit related documents.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yoon-cheol defended the government’s position by comparing it to Japan’s case. “Japan agreed to pay $550 billion in a lump-sum cash payment, sparking controversy over a secret side deal. But we have maintained our original proposal combining equity investment, guarantees, and loans, and the U.S. understands this approach,” he said, adding that Seoul is coordinating a meeting with the U.S. Treasury Secretary on October 15.

DP Rep. Kim Young-jin warned, “There are growing concerns that this could become a second Katsura-Taft Agreement. The U.S. is making highly coercive demands that have no place in normal economic diplomacy. It’s crucial for our government to hold firm to its principles.”

Another DP lawmaker, Jung Il-young, accused the Yoon administration of negligence, saying, “They obsessed over domestic turmoil but did nothing to study or prepare for tariff issues.”

Lawmakers also split sharply over the Lee administration’s overall economic performance.

Rep. Choi of the PPP rated its fiscal policies “an appalling F,” while DP Rep. Ahn Do-geol argued that “a dramatic economic turnaround is underway just four months after the Lee government took office,” calling it “the result of a national CEO effect.”