South Korea Pours More Cold Water On Trump's $350 Billion Deal, Seoul's Top Security Advisor Says Given US Track Record Currency Swap 'Won't Be Easy'

South Korea's national security chief, Wi Sung-lac, struck a cautious note on Monday, expressing concerns that securing a bilateral currency swap agreement with the United States would be hard to come by.

Currency Swap Deal ‘Won’t Be Easy’

“While our government has proposed a currency swap, the U.S.’s track record suggests it won’t be easy,” Wi said to a local news outlet, according to a Reuters report.

Earlier in the week, Wi responded to President Donald Trump’s claims that South Korea would be investing $350 billion upfront, saying that the country cannot afford to pay such a large sum in cash.

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“The position we're talking about is not a negotiating tactic, but rather, it is objectively and realistically not a level we are able to handle,” he said.

Negotiations with the Southeast Asian giant remain stuck, according to reports, largely because the U.S. has demanded control over the funds, as well as the payment structure.

$350 Billion Investment Risks 1997-Style Financial Crisis

Last week, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that Trump’s demands for $350 billion could trigger a 1997-style Asian financial meltdown if done without the necessary safeguards in place.

He 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.”

Lee demanded “commercial reasonableness” for his country’s investments, saying that it now remains the “biggest obstacle” for the trade deal to go through.

Lee met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the United Nations General Assembly last week to continue negotiations. According to his Chief Policy Secretary, Kim Yong-beom, he expressed hope that the discussions would progress based on “commercial rationality and in a direction that serves the interests of both countries.”

The South Korean Won trades at 1,402.8 against the U.S. Dollar, up 0.19% on Tuesday, while hovering near its four-month low against the greenback, amid continuing trade and tariff-related uncertainties.

Photo Courtesy: Tomas Ragina on Shutterstock.com

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