“The pace of investment in Korea and the United States may be slowed due to the Democratic Party’s control of Congress.”

A U.S. expert predicts that with the U.S. Democratic Party taking the majority in Congress, the progress of Korea's investment program in the U.S. promoted by the Donald Trump administration may be slowed down.

Andrew Yeo, Korea Chair at the Brookings Institution, said at a seminar hosted by the Korea-American Economic Institute (KEI) held in Washington, D.C. on the 10th (local time) that President Donald Trump will continue to push for Korea-related trade, investment, tariffs, and shipbuilding policies, but added, "There may be restrictions on the implementation of some policies due to strengthened congressional oversight."

In particular, with regard to Korea's $350 billion investment in the United States, it was predicted that the Democratic Party-led House of Representatives would likely take a closer look at the investment agreement process and procedures.

“The purpose of congressional oversight may not be to kill everything,” he said, but “it would slow progress by requiring the administration to answer questions from Congress before projects can move forward.”

It is unlikely that the 15% tariff applied to Korea will also be withdrawn, but he pointed out that both Korea and the United States must respond to the changed congressional environment as Congress is discussing legislation to strengthen Congress' control and oversight authority over tariffs.

The direction of the war with Iran was also cited as a variable that would have an impact on Korea.

While the Democratic Party is calling for an end to the war with Iran, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz could help Korea's energy security, but with the war nearing its end, how to respond to America's demand for increased contribution to military operations in the Middle East could be a complicated task for the Korean government.

He expressed skepticism about the prospects for resumption of dialogue between North Korea and the United States.

Chairman Yeo pointed out, “President Trump is making it clear that he wants to meet North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un, but Chairman Kim and the North Korean regime are showing no interest at all.”

In particular, regarding the possibility of a North Korea-US summit taking place at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Shenzhen, China this month, he said, "If it had been 4-5 months ago, I would have said it was a possibility, but as of now, I don't think it is."

He also predicted that, in a situation where the U.S.-China summit is being held, it is doubtful whether there will be diplomatic capacity to bring in North Korea and set up a separate meeting, adding, "It will be very difficult from a practical standpoint as well."

At the same time, he said that although it is possible to imagine a situation where Chairman Kim suddenly shows up at a gathering of major leaders to avoid being left out, like a scene from the popular American comedy program SNL, the likelihood of such a thing actually happening is "quite low."