Trump is back in power..."America First" is raging.

■ Host: Anchor Jeong Jin-hyung and anchor Lee Eun-sol
■ 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 [YTN New Square 8PM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
With former President Trump, who has put his U.S. priority back in power, the Republican Party is likely to take control of the Senate and become a majority in the House of Representatives, which is expected to gain strong momentum. It is expected that Korea's diplomacy, security, and economy will also experience turbulence in the future. Let's talk with commentator Lee Jong-soo today. Please come in. First, it would be nice to look at the election, but it ended too blandly than expected. There are a lot of these voices coming out. You must have seen the election yesterday, but how did you see the election?

[Reporter]
I've been thinking about Trump's approval. The U.S., where the majority of voters in the U.S. were superpowers even in the Biden administration, continues to backtrack. I had this kind of anxiety. So I'll make America great again, Ma, in other words. It seems to have given Trump another opportunity for him to imprint a strong leadership image on voters by shouting like this.

[Anchor]
So it was Trump's slogan, MAGA.

[Reporter]
However, not only the white and male undereducated supporters of Trump, but also the black, Latino, and Hispanic men, who are the Democratic Party's rabbits, were living in the Biden administration due to high prices. Also, economic polarization has intensified, hasn't it? So rather, during Trump's first term, inflation was only around 1%. I had this longing that it was better to live at that time. And as about 11 million illegal immigrants flowed in, they lost their jobs and put pressure on low wages, and there were very loud complaints. Since President-elect Trump knows this well, I think this election strategy, which delves deeply into the economy, illegal immigration, and very practical issues, has had a great effect. On the other hand, even though about 70% of American voters now support Biden's regime change theory, as you know, Harris has failed to differentiate herself from Biden, right? Harris, who quickly became a presidential candidate and was a great help to Trump, attacked Trump as a threat to democracy and a fascist, but his vision that sets him apart from Biden, how will he lead this country? And I couldn't show the contents in detail. And trying to rally women's votes on abortion rights, but didn't white women matter? It was 30% of the total electorate. But when I opened the lid again, as a result, more votes went to Trump.

[Anchor]
Wasn't the forecast of pollsters, which was considered the most close ever, wrong again? Why do you analyze that the error continues like this?

[Reporter]
Anyway, I missed three times in a row in 2016 and 2020. Shy Trump this time because he's been disgraced twice. Therefore, it was improved by faithfully reflecting the white and lower grades of the United States. I said it like this, but I think it's an American tracker. These are white manual workers, men, on the outskirts of the city. But these people are not very interested in the polls. So there's no way you're going to answer the phone while driving, right? So I don't think these people were fully reflected. Then, polling companies put weights to ensure fairness, but this was not the rule of thumb. There's a point like this. Another thing is Hidden Harris, as I mentioned earlier, a white woman voted for Trump by about 5 percentage points more, but the mainstream U.S. media will have a lot of Hidden Harris. There was this observation.

[Anchor]
It's been a hot topic throughout the election.

[Reporter]
Right. But it turns out that there was no hidden Harris. Wasn't it a bubble? Why did I do that? Wouldn't they have the desired information and have a definite bias? There is also an analysis of whether it worked. So I'm concerned about this bias, so in my case, I report on the average value of the polls in contending states that will determine the outcome, and there was a controversy over the early turnout, so I look closely at how many Republican and Democratic voters there are.Ma can't ignore the mainstream U.S. media coverage in Korea. So this time, the mainstream American media also missed three times. I would say that efforts to increase the reliability of the presidential election polls are very urgent.

[Anchor]
Have you ever made this prediction before the presidential election, Commissioner?

[Reporter]
Even until then, four to five days before the presidential election, most of them saw Trump as favorable. But it was difficult to talk about it publicly. However, there were reports from major media at the end and signs of Harris' recovery, so we had to keep a closer eye on that.

[Anchor]
I think it would be good to start predicting the outcome of this election from now on, but didn't the Republican Party become the majority in the Senate as former President Trump succeeded in regaining power? In addition, there is a high possibility of a majority in the House of Representatives, and if this happens, former President Trump and the president-elect will implement a U.S.-first policy. He has been professing, but is he receiving too strong a force without checking this policy? There are actually voices of concern like this. What do you think about this?

[Reporter]
In the case of the House of Representatives, as I said, the Senate has a Republican majority, and the House of Representatives has just looked into it, and it's about 7 o'clock Korean time. There are 195 Republicans and 180 Democrats. So, with a 15-seat gap and now 60 seats left, the Republican Party is more likely to be in the majority. As stated, if the Republican Party takes control of both houses, the second Trump term will impose 60% tariffs on China. And we're gonna control the border and deport them on a large scale. Aren't you putting out such a rapid progress policy? It seems that this will be pushed forward without hesitation as you say. And on the other hand, the Supreme Court justice now has a 6:3 pay advantage. So the Republican Party controls legislation, justice, and administration, doesn't it? Therefore, there is a concern that the check system due to the separation of powers disappears. And in the case of the House of Representatives, even if Republicans give it, the impeachment of the president could be a problem. However, even if it is passed by the House of Representatives, it can be voted down by the Senate, so President-elect Trump and the Republican Party have prepared a safety board. So anyway, it seems to be quite resilient.

[Anchor]
a situation in which the possibility of an inexorable regime grows. As Trump's second-term policy said, if we get this momentum, isn't it expected that our foreign, security, and economic policies will change significantly?

[Reporter]
That's right. I was also concerned before I was elected. I mean, Trump's second term is definitely more America-first. And since the burden of alliance is at the forefront, it seems to be a storm. First of all, didn't Trump boast that he would end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours as soon as he took office? This means that we're going to end the arms aid to Ukraine by leaving the territory that Russia and Ukraine have today. In this case, isn't the South Korean government considering providing weapons to Ukraine because the North Korean military is participating in the war? That's why we can be embarrassed. And there is a problem with the cost-sharing of defense, which means that it will be increased by 8.3% and paid from 2026, but Trump is far from enough, so it should be about 10 billion dollars, right? It's 13 trillion won and 14 trillion won, but I think there may be pressure to increase or demand renegotiation anyway. And as you can see from the graphic, during Trump's first term, then-President Trump mentioned the withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea several times. Therefore, it seems that the possibility of discussing or discussing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Korea during the renegotiation process cannot be ruled out. And as you know, I will continue to get along well with Kim Jong-un, I am close, I will continue to get along well. Didn't you say that? The possibility of a U.S.-North Korea summit going forward is quite high, although not immediately, I think so.

[Anchor]
You've made some predictions about changes in diplomacy and security, but how's the economy? So, in the answer earlier, you mentioned 60% tariffs on China, but in fact, exports are very important in Korea, and we will create jobs in the United States first with protectionism by imposing unique tariffs on Korea. I've said this many times. How will the economy change?

[Reporter]
Actually, the future is not bright. It's a lot of challenges for us. Since high tariffs are imposed at 10 to 20%, the sectors with a high proportion of exports to the U.S. are steel, chemicals, and automobiles, and it seems that the industry has quite a dark cloud. And during the Biden administration, our exports to the U.S. were about $27.7 billion in 2021, but they increased to $44.4 billion last year. So now that it's doubled, it looks like Trump 2 could be the target of the attack. And then, they said they would change the semiconductor chip method. In the case of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in Korea, they are supposed to receive about 9.5 trillion won as subsidies because they invest a lot in the U.S., but I'm not sure if they can receive this. Then, I talked about the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA, and the abolition of it. In that case, we now receive about 5 to 10 trillion won per year for our companies. But the benefits became unclear. As you said earlier, if the 2nd Trump starts beating China, won't China's exports to the U.S. decrease significantly? Then we made a profit by selling intermediate goods, and these parts will have a negative impact.

[Anchor]
our meticulous response It seems that diplomatic solutions and corporate efforts are needed at the same time, so isn't Trump a businessman? So it's a great master of negotiations, these analyses are coming out, and we need to make efforts to respond to them, right?

[Reporter]
Of course. Experts are emphasizing that Trump is a master of transactions, so we have to push him in first and persuade him. There are many people who know, but Korea actually invested 72 trillion won directly in the United States from 2021 to 23. That's why it's No. 1 among Asia-Pacific countries. And last year, we created more than 20,000 jobs in the United States. It is the number one contributor to job creation in the United States. We are not unilaterally beneficiary countries. So, it seems that Trump and Trump's second cabinet should make this clear to gain an advantage in the upcoming subsidies and contributions negotiations. Then Trump wants to change from Biden, isn't he? So, it is necessary to rename the things that have been formed in the Biden administration, such as the Korea-U.S.-Japan relationship alliance, and to remove the color of the Biden administration. And more fundamentally, in the Korea-U.S. alliance, Korea will bear the responsibilities and burdens that match its national power. If North Korea really tries to be recognized as a nuclear power with such a confident attitude, I think we need an active response that we can boldly demand that we will arm ourselves with nuclear weapons while explaining the situation of North Korea, Russia and China.

[Anchor]
Let's stop here. So far, we have looked at the impact of commentator Lee Jong-soo and Trump's second-term U.S. priority on Korea in diplomacy, security, and economy, and briefly pointed out the response posture. Thank you for talking today.