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South Korean President Lee Jae-myung delivers congratulatory remarks at the Korea-Mongolia Business Forum held at a hotel in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on July 9 (local time). / Courtesy of Yonhap News

The presidential office stated on July 9 that regarding the naval shipbuilding cooperation requested by US President Donald Trump, it believes the US side does not rule out the possibility of building warships within South Korea. Observers note that this, coupled with the MASGA project—a joint US-ROK naval and shipbuilding cooperation initiative—could accelerate bilateral talks on shipping and shipbuilding.

A senior presidential official said during a briefing at the press center in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, "We are getting the impression that the US side is not ruling out construction inside South Korea."

However, the official added, "Under US law, there are distinct categories for warships, combat logistics ships, and merchant-type military support vessels. Since the legal provisions vary slightly depending on the type of vessel, we need to closely review the details."

Earlier, President Lee Jae-myung met with President Trump on July 7 on the sidelines of the NATO summit to hold follow-up discussions regarding naval shipbuilding.

Regarding the specific requests made by President Trump, the official explained, "The conversation between the two leaders was not deeply detailed or highly structured yet. We need to flesh it out further through working-level consultations."

He continued, "We need to identify and fill in the missing gaps we aren't fully aware of yet. Once we return to Seoul and the US team returns to Washington, we intend to assess the situation and proceed with additional discussions."

US legal regulations, such as the Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment, which restricts foreign shipyards from building vessels for the US Navy, remain a key variable. Addressing this, the official noted, "There is the question of how to bypass or resolve the hurdles in the current legislation. While there might be executive leeway for the President and various approaches available, it appears to be a matter linked to Congress."

The presidential office plans to approach the negotiations by comprehensively combining South Korea's high-level shipbuilding competitiveness, bilateral investment cooperation, and the MASGA project.

"We possess highly competitive shipbuilding capabilities, and there are areas where mutual investments between South Korea and the US are necessary," the official said. "Given that we also have MASGA in place, we intend to combine these elements effectively to forge cooperation that meets expectations."

Meanwhile, regarding the US State Department's recent expressions of concern over the newly revised Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection implemented in South Korea, the presidential office signaled its intention to pursue further communication.

"It seems we need to provide more explanation," the official stated. "We plan to clear up any differences by communicating further that the measure is not discriminatory, but rather a justifiable action meant to protect consumer interests."

                                                                                                       Park Young-hoon