South Korea's President Lee says US investment demands would spark financial crisis

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Source: Reuters

Exclusive-South Korea's President Lee says US investment demands would spark financial crisis

Josh Smith, Hyunjoo Jin and Heejung Jung
Sun, September 21, 2025 at 5:03 PM EDT 6 min read

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea's economy could fall into crisis rivalling its 1997 meltdown if the government accepts current U.S. demands in stalled trade talks without safeguards, President Lee Jae Myung told Reuters.

Seoul and Washington verbally agreed to a trade deal in July in which the U.S. would lower President Donald Trump's tariffs on South Korean goods in exchange for $350 billion in investment from South Korea, among other measures.

They have yet to put the agreement to paper because of disputes over how the investments would be handled, Lee said.

"Without a currency swap, if we were to withdraw $350 billion in the manner that the U.S. is demanding and to invest this all in cash in the U.S., South Korea would face a situation as it had in the 1997 financial crisis," he said through a translator.

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