Trump threatens to send troops into allies...The dispatch of a special envoy is unclear.

■ Host: Anchor Park Seok-won
■ Starring: Commentator Lee Jong-soo

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN24] when quoting.

[Anchor]
The allies are anxious about Trump's ambition to expand his territory as he is about to take office. He is threatening to send troops to allies to cross the Panama Canal in Greenland. We are also expected to have an aggressive offensive, but concerns are growing as the dispatch of a special envoy before Trump's inauguration is uncertain due to extreme confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties. Let's point it out with commentator Lee Jong-soo. Please come in. There are about eight days left, and they have been advocating America First to this day. President-elect Trump seems to be blatantly pressing for territorial expansion.

[Reporter]
[Voiceover] Right, so Trump, it's like the late 19th century. It's showing expansionism without hesitation, as if it's back to the imperial era. Looking at Trump's recent attempts to expand his territory, he will take back ownership of the Panama Canal to check China and check the expansion of influence. And there are many rare earths buried to pressure China. It's Danish territory. I'm going to buy Greenland, I'm going to change the Gulf of Mexico name to the United States only. In addition, Canada should be incorporated into the 51st U.S. state, and there is no hesitation in making such remarks that violate its sovereignty. In this regard, the New York Times says that Trump's America-firstism can be seen as expansionism.

[Anchor]
It would be a relief if it was a simple warning, but didn't you make a remark that you wouldn't rule out the use of force?

[Reporter]
That's right. President-elect Trump is threatening not only to own the Danish Greenland and Panama Canal, but also to use the military to achieve this. Shall we listen to the comments?

[Reporter]
As you've heard, I've also made surprising remarks. Also, Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada even resigned due to this kind of behavior that is just leaving. So, Prime Minister Trudeau said Trump would impose a 25% trade tariff on Canada, so I asked him to meet and solve it, but he made this derisive remark from Trump, saying, "Be the 51st governor of the United States." So Prime Minister Trudeau was not popular. due to economic difficulties Then, when he was ridiculed like this, the finance minister, who is close to him, criticized him for being too low-key, and resigned in a surprise move, raising public distrust. This is how Prime Minister Trudeau stepped down.

[Anchor]
President-elect Trump made even Canada's prime minister resign. Aren't there a lot of things that need to be discussed with our country as well? Isn't it a situation where you can't just consider it someone else's country?

[Reporter]
President-elect Trump was on the 3rd, and since the martial law was declared, he has not mentioned Korea at all. However, during the presidential election process, South Korea was an ATM, and demanded an increase in the share of U.S. military defense costs in South Korea and a significant increase. He also hinted at direct talks with Chairman Kim Jong-un, raising concerns about passing South Korea. He also asked them to join the siege of China. In addition, there was a notice that the universal trade tariff was about 10-20%, and that it would be imposed on Korea. And isn't there a bill that guarantees support for domestic battery companies? IRA, the Inflation Reduction Act. I also mentioned reducing or abolishing this. And I asked for cooperation from the shipbuilding industry. Every one of these has a profound effect on the national prestige and economic and security interests of Korea. But President-elect Trump showed this willingness to push for this strongly.

[Anchor]
Because of the current leadership vacuum, isn't the Trump administration's hard-line measures inevitably a big hole in the government's response?

[Reporter]
That's right. The acting Choi system is making all-out efforts to cope with the situation, with Minister of Industry Ahn Deok-geun visiting the U.S. before Trump's inauguration. But the limitations are quite clear. First of all, Minister Ahn Deok-geun made a related statement, pledging to break through the communication channel right after his visit to the U.S., and we will listen to it. However, it is now understood that although Minister Ahn met with seven U.S. House and Senate members and officials from the think tank, Trump's elected officials did not contact him. The government has also announced that it will consider sending a special envoy before Trump's inauguration, but it seems unclear and difficult now. It's 20 days local time. There is an inauguration ceremony for President-elect Trump, and the government's representative is Cho Hyun-dong, Ambassador to the U.S., who is now set to attend.

[Anchor]
The government is the government, but isn't it a situation that can be directly hit by Korean companies? How are our companies coping?

[Reporter]
Unfortunately, each of them went on the path of their lives. So, it is trying to avoid tariff bombs by focusing on investment rather than exports to the United States. As you can see from the graphic, it's an affiliate of Hyundai Group. Hyundai Steel and the United States are the world's largest steel market, and we are considering building a steel mill that produces automobile steel plates. Samsung Electronics is trying to expand its semiconductor production base here in Austin and Taylor in Texas, and in the case of SK Hynix, it is considering establishing an HBM production facility.

We are currently considering establishing a battery plant in the United States and three battery companies, including LG Energy Solution. And we've already met in person in the business community at Trump's inauguration on the 20th. Shinsegae Group Chairman Chung Yong-jin, SPC Group Chairman Heo Young-in, SM Group Chairman Woo Young-yeon, and Pungsan Group Chairman Ryu Jin will attend.

[Anchor]
Isn't our politics almost defenseless against Trump's shock?

[Reporter]
That's right. As I mentioned earlier, Trump is now approaching the president-elect, allies, and allies in a way that is just pushing ahead, and the ruling and opposition parties are putting their heads together with the Korean government to come up with measures to deal with this, right? Instead, he only shows a little shaking up the acting Choi system by filing a complaint against Choi and discussing impeachment. In fact, isn't this a matter of very serious national interest?

At times like this, bipartisan coping, bipartisan diplomacy, this is very important, but we can't expect it now. It's a reality right now. About seven members of the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee and about three members of the ruling party of national power who have personal relationships attend the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Trump. From this point of view, how can we really get through Trump's offensive unless we are globally competitive companies? When I think about this, my eyes are very dark. It was on the 9th.

Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch are three leading global credit rating agencies, and if political uncertainty in Korea is prolonged, it will inevitably have a negative impact on the country's credit rating.

[Anchor]
I think we need to come up with something to do as soon as possible. This has been commentator Lee Jong-soo. Thank you.