US Senator Rubio: South Korea's 'pro-China, left-leaning' shift is a feature of democracy

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) – Reporter Hong Jeong-gyu = On the 3rd (local time), US Senator Marco Rubio responded to a US congressional representative's assertion that the 'South Korean regime has become pro-China and left-leaning' by saying it was 'a characteristic of democracy that creates regimes through elections.'

Senator Rubio, appearing at a hearing of the Federal House Foreign Affairs Committee that day, answered a question from Representative Darrell Issa (Republican-California) by saying, 'In democratic countries, sometimes you elect leaders who are more favorable to US interests, as in the case of Japan, and sometimes you elect leaders with different perspectives.'

He added, 'This is a unique aspect of dealing with democratic countries,' and 'We often witness this in our own hemisphere as well.' This is interpreted to mean that left-leaning anti-US regimes have frequently emerged in South America.

Senator Rubio stated, 'If it is a legitimate election and the people they chose (leaders), we respect the sovereign choice of the people (of that country).'

He emphasized, 'Even if democratically elected leaders take positions that are contrary to US interests, it does not mean we want to overthrow or remove that government, because it is a democratic government.'

He added, 'It simply means that we need to engage with them regarding the fact that they are taking actions that provoke our national interests.'

Regarding Representative Issa's point that US companies like Coupang and Meta are being discriminated against in South Korea, Senator Rubio said, 'Our companies are not the only ones experiencing difficulties and targeting in South Korea.' He added, 'The European Union (EU) is targeting our technology companies and taking unfair measures.'

Senator Rubio continued, 'I believe this (the situation of US companies in South Korea) becomes one element of our engagement with South Korea, despite the fact that we have strategic alignments with South Korea.'

He further stated, 'Frankly, I think this has affected our ability to conclude a trade agreement with South Korea,' adding, 'Because of their attitude towards some American companies.'

Although it is known that Senator Rubio exchanged opinions on the Coupang issue with Foreign Minister Cho Hyun during his visit to the US in February, this is the first time he has directly mentioned it in a public forum.

Last year, the US and South Korea reached a trade agreement through two summit meetings between President Lee Jae-myung and President Donald Trump, which included lowering the US's reciprocal tariff (country-specific tariff) and automobile tariff rates from 25% to 15%, and South Korea investing $350 billion in the US. The agreement is now in the implementation phase.

However, following the US Supreme Court's ruling to invalidate reciprocal tariffs in February, the Trump administration has sought to impose 'alternative tariffs' on major trading partners, including South Korea, citing issues such as the import of products produced by forced labor and overproduction. This has created the possibility of changes to the US-South Korea trade agreement due to the situation in the US.

Ultimately, as attention is focused on whether the US will apply new tariff rates to South Korea that exceed the existing reciprocal tariff rate (15%), Senator Rubio's mention in Congress of the treatment of some US companies in South Korea is a noteworthy point from a South Korean perspective.

Prior to Senator Rubio's response, Representative Issa argued, 'South Korea's democracy has strongly tilted to the left, and it is opening more paths towards China.' He added, 'In fact, it has begun to suppress many of our companies, including Meta and Coupang.'

Issa has shown strong opposition to South Korea's online platform regulation movements and is known to have actively participated in a letter sent by Republican lawmakers to the South Korean government urging them to 'stop discriminatory regulations against Coupang.' He also met with People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk during his visit to the US in April.

That day, he also requested that a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) op-ed containing claims by some US conservatives that the South Korean government has recently leaned left be included in the meeting records.

Furthermore, when asked by Representative Ami Bera (Democrat-California), who visited South Korea in late March and met with President Lee Jae-myung and others, about any changes in the US's provision of nuclear deterrence to North Korea, Senator Rubio replied, 'Our posture there remains the same.'

He added, 'We are not there to provoke a crisis, jump into a war, or cause any problems,' and 'We maintain a very strong relationship with South Korea at the working level.'

Regarding Representative Young Kim's (Republican-California) inquiry about the White House's 'Maritime Action Plan' announced in February to rebuild the US shipbuilding industry, Senator Rubio stated that in addition to building ships domestically, a few ships could be built in South Korea, saying, 'It will be beneficial for us.'

The US Maritime Action Plan includes a 'Bridge Strategy' where foreign shipbuilders can acquire US shipyards or partner with US shipyards to invest capital in US shipyards, and ultimately build an initial portion of contracted orders in their home countries until domestic production becomes possible.

However, to build entire US vessels in South Korea, a presidential measure from the US is required to temporarily suspend the application of restrictive regulations related to the construction of US vessels outside the US.