The Bank of Korea's switch to non-disclosure of foreign exchange reserves rankings and former President Trump's remarks on Korea are linked to domestic political and diplomatic issues, drawing attention to the Lee Jae-myung administration's response.
This can also be interpreted as a form of deletion, and some suggest it may be a preemptive measure to prepare for long-term foreign exchange issues, going beyond a mere cessation of information disclosure. Lawyer Won Young-sup was asked how this measure could be interpreted.
Lawyer Won Young-sup warned that signs of foreign exchange problems are currently visible, and these issues are likely to become more concrete within 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years under the Lee Jae-myung administration. He pointed out that Korea's foreign exchange reserves ranking has dropped from the top 5 to 12th-13th place, expressing concerns about a worsening foreign exchange situation in the future.
Lawyer Won Young-sup mentioned the U.S. tariff negotiations as an immediate diplomatic issue. He noted that an annual investment of $20 billion was a minimum condition in those negotiations, but it is unclear whether this promise is being fulfilled. This suggests that former President Trump is monitoring Korea's investment status.
When the exchange rate surged early this year, foreign exchange authorities intervened in the market to defend the currency. It was confirmed that approximately 19 trillion won worth of dollars flowed out as they sold dollars and bought won.
Lawyer Won Young-sup explained that this intervention by the authorities was to adjust exchange rate volatility, but the situation was actually difficult. Direct market intervention by foreign exchange authorities entails significant financial burdens, which can lead to a decrease in foreign exchange reserves.
The U.S. is strongly promoting reshoring policies to increase domestic semiconductor production and is pressuring Korean companies to build additional factories. Lawyer Won Young-sup likened this to 'hitting' and described the intensity of U.S. pressure as high. Semiconductor factories require stringent conditions for site selection, particularly infrastructure requirements such as electricity and water. With the recent surge in artificial intelligence (AI) demand, calls for domestic semiconductor production in the U.S. have intensified.
This can be interpreted as a trade issue linked to existing tariff negotiations. Lawyer Won Young-sup explained that this project could have significant implications for diversifying Korea's energy supply and responding to risks in the Strait of Hormuz.
Lawyer Won Young-sup emphasized that, unlike crude oil, LNG does not have large reserves, and no country stockpiles LNG as a major energy source. He highlighted the advantage of the Alaska shipping route being more stable than the existing Middle East route, stressing the need for energy supply diversification.
The U.S. has presented three main demands to the Korean government. First is the delay in semiconductor factory construction, second is participation in the Alaska LNG project, and third is troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz. Lawyer Won Young-sup stated that these three demands are being made simultaneously.
Troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz is a sensitive issue directly related to national interest and security, beyond mere military support. The U.S. is requesting military contributions from its allies for security in this region.
Criticism has been raised that the Korean government's response to these demands is passive and lacks a proactive strategy.
The host pointed out that the government is always reacting late. Lawyer Won Young-sup commented that proactive responses to secure actual national interests, such as drone data collection, are lacking in relations with the U.S.
South Korea is one of the few countries where private investigation services are not legalized. This creates a risk of legal penalties for activities such as collecting personal information during investigations. Lawyer Won Young-sup mentioned that the absence of legal status for private investigators creates a disparity when compared to lawyers or journalists.
Lawyer Won Young-sup pointed out that, under the current system, crime victims who use private investigators risk being punished as instigators. This leads to a structural problem where declining trust in public investigative agencies results in seeking private investigations. He emphasized that this vicious cycle will be difficult to resolve without institutional improvement and if police power is concentrated.
Lawyer Won Young-sup stated that there is no country in the world that exclusively grants investigative powers to the police. He mentioned that National Assembly member Kim Yong-tae of the People Power Party previously advocated for 'dual investigative powers,' recognizing investigative authority for both prosecutors and police. This suggests that the current discussion on strengthening police investigative powers has been distorted from its original intent.
Since lawyers can operate within the institutional framework, there is a high possibility that demand for lawyers related to police investigative powers will significantly increase. This could lead to a trend of retaining lawyers even for minor cases, increasing legal costs for the public.
The current vacuum in prosecutorial investigation departments and movements to adjust trial sentencing dates are also influencing these changes. As changes in the legal system are anticipated, significant shifts are expected across the entire legal service market.
He pointed out that if cases previously handled by prosecutors are concluded, no one is certain how those cases will be distributed. There is a lack of concrete plans for case termination and handover procedures following prosecutor changes.
Lawyer Won Young-sup revealed that Kim Won-joon was the individual who oversaw investigations into the Daejang-dong development preferential treatment case and the LH executive real estate speculation case, both promoted by former Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung.
Controversy also arose regarding his lack of expertise in airport operations as a former police officer. There have been allegations of shoddy investigations in past Daejang-dong and Seongnam FC cases, cited as examples of inadequate investigations into local power.
Given these circumstances, Lawyer Won questioned what else Kim Won-joon's appointment could be if not a reward appointment.
One of the key issues of the disaster is the delay in black box analysis.
Kim Won-joon served as the head of the National Police Agency's Foreign Affairs Bureau and the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Information Management Department. Lawyer Won Young-sup explained that this experience in information and foreign affairs provides expertise in international information exchange and management. He speculated that Kim Won-joon's background could be related to the investigation of the Mu'an Airport disaster.
Consequently, speculation is rising that Kim Won-joon's appointment is not merely a reward appointment, but rather that he was assigned duties related to investigating the Mu'an Airport disaster to alleviate the Lee Jae-myung administration's burden.
Answers come from the transcript, with the exact spot cited.
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