Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said on Monday that South Korea will "watch the situation very wisely and proceed" in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs were unlawful.
"We haven't discussed this matter at the government level yet," Kim said at a K-Government Briefing session in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province. Domestic observers are watching for potential changes to the outcome of Korea-U.S. trade negotiations following the Supreme Court's decision.
"We will discuss various issues, including whether all the tariff negotiations so far can be reset to zero, or whether some conditions can be changed," the prime minister explained.
"We will proceed while honoring the agreements made between the two governments," Kim added. "Since we are now facing a situation where one country's legal framework has been shaken, I believe this represents a change in circumstances that allows us to take a more comprehensive view while still keeping our promises."
Regarding the Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations, Kim characterized them as "fundamentally a political and economic negotiation based on both sides' trade interests, not purely a legal matter between the U.S. government operating under American law and the Korean government operating under Korean law."
On the contentious issue of administrative integration between Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, Kim stated that "whether to integrate or not is a choice for Daegu and North Gyeongsang to make."
"I want to ask those who say this is just superficial administrative integration," he said. "Doesn't this expand authority and fiscal capacity beyond what existed before? No one can deny that more fiscal resources and authority will be transferred."
Addressing measures to revitalize Pohang's struggling local economy, Kim remarked, "If Pohang, which led the Republic of Korea, is in this state, imagine how other regions must be faring."
He pledged that the government would work together on "how to maintain the steel industry well while adapting to changes, how to incorporate hydrogen, and how to effectively develop and integrate secondary batteries, semiconductors, and small modular reactors."