Politico: Trump Frustrated Over South Korea's Investment Speed, Prompting Reduction in Joint Drills

U.S. President Donald Trump's directive to scale down joint South Korea-U.S. military drills reflects frustrations over economic pending issues with South Korea, U.S. political media outlet Politico reported on the 17th (local time).

According to sources, the Trump administration believes that the South Korean government is not speeding up the implementation of its investment commitments to the United States agreed upon during tariff negotiations.

Out of the 350 billion dollars promised by South Korea, 150 billion dollars has been allocated for shipbuilding cooperation, but specific investment destinations for the remaining 200 billion dollars have not yet been announced.

One source said, "Negotiations with South Korea are proceeding slower than the Trump administration expected. They are the slowest negotiating partner we have seen so far."

In the case of Japan, which promised 550 billion dollars in investment in the United States, six projects have already been finalized.

Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, pointed out that South Korea is treating the U.S. investment issue like a typical investment.

Cha said, "South Korea seems to want to iron out every single detail perfectly before making an announcement," adding, "Things do not work that way in the Trump administration."

The Trump administration is also reportedly expressing dissatisfaction with how the South Korean government treats Coupang.

Last June, the Personal Information Protection Commission imposed a total of 624.7 billion won in fines on Coupang, citing reasons such as personal information leakage and the collection of personal information without legal grounds.

A source said, "President Trump likes to use leverage," adding, "Leverage exerts power when it is actually used, and that is what Trump does."

This indicates that President Trump tends to link economic and security issues.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.