However, to the disappointment of South Korean entrepreneurs, Yoon seemed to have made little progress in persuading the United States to reduce the negative impact of the two acts on South Korean companies.
“With regard to the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act that were the core agenda (in the Yoon-Biden meeting), (Yoon) has not protected our industry and companies at all,” Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, said at a party meeting on Friday.
Seoul’s blind pro-U.S. diplomacy even at the cost of its own national interests has fueled concerns among South Koreans.
“The worry is that (South Korea) is rushing into a situation where (the country) has to depend on the United States for everything,” Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper said in an editorial on Thursday.
The editorial warned that South Korea was losing its diplomatic and security autonomy as it would be more difficult for Seoul to reject any demand from Washington.
“American Pie” only belongs to America; for others, it is nothing but pie in the sky.