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Cho Kuk, interim leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, speaks to reporters in Seoul on October 30 after commenting on the U.S.–Korea trade agreement. / Source: Song Ui-joo, Yonhap News

Cho Kuk, interim leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, praised President Lee Jae-myung on October 30 for his handling of the U.S.–Korea tariff negotiations, crediting Lee’s leadership for breaking through what he described as Washington’s “unfair and unequal” demands.

In a Facebook post, Cho wrote, “President Lee, together with the government and Korean businesses, has climbed a great mountain,” adding that Lee’s leadership enabled Seoul to overcome the United States’ insistence on “an all-cash, prepaid investment plan.”

He noted that South Korea achieved “a better outcome than Japan” and that the agreement “helped dispel economic uncertainty,” describing it as meaningful that “President Lee reaffirmed his role as a pacemaker while President Trump acted as a peacemaker.”

Cho stressed that the deal “is not the end,” cautioning that “the devil is in the details,” and urged the government to “remain vigilant and ensure the final documentation is watertight.”

He also called on officials to “focus on recovering principal and ensuring fair profit-sharing” while using the agreement as “a foundation for a new framework of economic growth and industrial advancement.”

Turning to security issues, Cho said, “The operational area of nuclear-powered submarines must be limited to the Korean Peninsula,” adding that, as President Lee mentioned, operations should remain confined to nearby waters such as the East and West Seas to “minimize the risk of direct confrontation with China.”