Trump tariffs not our fault, Prime Minister Kim says after U.S. visit comes up empty
Published: 02 Feb. 2026, 19:08
![Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks during a press conference held at the prime minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, on Feb. 2. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/02/867335aa-619e-4955-a3a9-ac6b4a2cea30.jpg)
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks during a press conference held at the prime minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, on Feb. 2. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
U.S. President Donald Trump’s pressure to raise tariffs on Korea “is not a diplomatic failure by our government," Prime Minister Kim Min-seok told reporters on Monday as he addressed the government's recent all-out efforts to resolve trade issues with the United States.
“We were not aware of it in advance, but that was because sufficient communication did not take place even within the U.S. government," said Kim, during a 132-minute conference at the prime minister’s residence in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul.
Kim visited the United States from Jan. 22 to 26 and met with Vice President JD Vance on Jan. 23. The Prime Minister’s Office hailed Kim's diplomatic progress, including the establishment of a hotline with Vance. But at the end of Kim's trip, Trump announced his intentions to reimpose higher tariffs on Korea, raising them to 25 percent from the agreed-upon 15 percent.
Kim's trip had apparently fallen flat.
“Even within the U.S. government, it is believed that this was a message that most people were not aware of in advance, except perhaps Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and President Trump,” Kim said. “You wouldn't call President Trump's unique way of delivering his messages a failure of the U.S. government, would you?"
Kim also revealed that the hotline had been activated following Trump’s message.
![Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and U.S. Vice President JD Vance pose for a photo at the White House in Washington on Jan. 23. [PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/02/5625768c-1556-4817-b00d-4edc8f58fb3a.jpg)
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and U.S. Vice President JD Vance pose for a photo at the White House in Washington on Jan. 23. [PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE]
“I received the phone numbers of Vice President Vance and Andy Baker, the White House deputy national security adviser, on the spot, and we have already exchanged communications several times since then,” Kim said. “With the hotline and various existing channels in operation, we have been verifying each other’s intentions, and the situation has progressed to where it is now. It was fortunate that the hotline had been established just before the new situation arose."
It was confirmed that the U.S. government’s tariff pressure was instead an expression of dissatisfaction with the lack of swift progress on agreed-upon items from the Korea–U.S. tariff negotiations, according to Kim.
Kim rejected reports by foreign media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, that Vice President Vance had warned against disadvantaging U.S. technology companies such as Coupang.
“That is judged to be different from the confirmed position of the U.S. government; it is completely untrue,” Kim said. “Legal issues related to the Coupang matter will be handled according to the position of the Korean government, and both sides will communicate sufficiently and manage the situation so that it does not escalate into unnecessary bilateral trade issues or misunderstandings.”
![Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks during a press conference held at the prime minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, on Feb. 2. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/02/5a89a5c8-5c49-40aa-87ac-b8935acc9711.jpg)
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok speaks during a press conference held at the prime minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, on Feb. 2. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Regarding President Lee Jae Myung’s recent comments on X declaring what amounted to an all-out stance on real estate market regulation, Kim said, “One of the main reasons past governments, regardless of whether they were progressive or conservative, failed to achieve results in real estate policy was that they did not maintain the original policy direction as circumstances and trends changed.”
He said the message was intended to signal that “this is not a change in policy direction, but that the policy direction will be pursued consistently, so it would be better not to expect it to change.”
“The investigations are finished, and the results will be announced before the Lunar New Year," Kim said, regarding the task force screening public officials in each ministry for possible involvement in the emergency martial law declared by former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 3, 2024.
“The reform work has proceeded more substantively than expected, and in a relatively reasonable and stable manner," Kim said. "Ministries cooperated well, and there were voluntary reports. Fine details that did not emerge in special counsel investigations or trials were additionally organized, which helped in understanding the overall structure of the insurrection.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HA JUN-HO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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