[Li Zhiyin, special correspondent of the Global Times in South Korea] South Korea and the United States have differences on the specific plan of $350 billion investment in the United States, and trade negotiations have been going on for many months. According to Korean media reports such as Yonhap News Agency, South Korean Foreign Minister Zhao Xian revealed on the 13th that the US has put forward a new proposal on the relevant plan, and the ROK is carefully studying it. Korean media generally believe that although the United States has not put forward a specific plan, it has "retreated" from the previous position of "full cash investment".

South Korea and the United States reached a trade agreement framework at the end of July, but the concrete implementation plan has not yet been finally agreed, the dispute mainly focused on South Korea's $350 billion investment commitment to the United States. According to the Associated Press, Zhao Xi said at the meeting on 13th that the $35 billion investment scheme proposed by the United States included loans and loan guarantees, etc., but later suddenly turned into "full direct investment", "which is unacceptable".

The South Korean National Daily that South Korea's Deputy Prime Minister of Economy and Planning and Finance Officer Zhu Yuan said on the same day in the Congressional Planning and Finance Committee in response to the questioning also stressed that South Korea is "difficult to bear such a scale of cash investment", the government is pushing forward the tariff consultation on the principle of "national interest priority".

The report said that in order to hedge risks, the South Korean government had previously proposed to the United States to sign an "unrestricted South Korea-US currency swap" agreement to replace cash investment. Regarding the United States '"retreat" measures, Goo Yunzhe said that the United States has realized that South Korea cannot spend hundreds of billions of dollars at a time like Japan, which is of great significance in itself. He added that if the United States recognizes the reality of South Korea, it may find a new breakthrough for negotiations.

The report also pointed out that there are still widespread concerns about the investment plan within South Korea. Chen Shengzhun, a member of the Common Democratic Party of Korea, criticized that the unilateral request of the United States was "difficult to obtain the approval of the South Korean National Assembly", and if the agreement was signed without the consent of the National Assembly, it would impose a heavy financial burden on the people. Another lawmaker, Jin Young-hwan, also said: "This is not a negotiation acceptable to sovereign countries." Other lawmakers suggested that instead of investing $350 billion in exchange for tariff reduction, it is more reasonable to maintain the current tariff of 25%.

Several South Korean media analysts believe that the main differences between the two sides are focused on the direct investment ratio and fund structure in the US funds. The South Korean side argues that most should be provided in the form of loans and guarantees, while the U.S. side demands cash financing to dominate. The South Korean industry analysts believe that although the negotiations have not made a substantial breakthrough, the U.S. side¡¯s ¡°concessions¡± indicate that the negotiations are entering a new phase.