Lawmakers Kim Yong-man (from left), Kim Young-bae, and Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party, and Kang Kyung-sook of the Rebuilding Korea Party, hold a briefing with correspondents in Washington, D.C., on the 25th (local time). Correspondent Lee Tae-kyu
South Korean lawmakers visiting the United States urged US congressional and government officials to create a workaround for the Jones Act and resolve the issue of vessel exports to Russia.
Lawmakers including the Democratic Party’s Song Young-gil, Kim Young-bae and Kim Yong-man, and the Rebuilding Korea Party’s Kang Kyung-sook held a press briefing for Korean correspondents in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. They said they had asked about the possibility of revising the Jones Act, which requires that cargo transport between US ports be carried only by vessels that are US-flagged, US-built and US-owned, and explored possible ways to circumvent it.
In response, the US Congress indicated that revision of the Jones Act was effectively off the table, according to the lawmakers. “I met Representative Marilyn Strickland (Democrat, Washington state) of the US House, and since she serves on the Armed Services Committee, I asked about the possibility of revising the Jones Act. But the answer that came back was that there is absolutely no chance of it being changed outright,” Kim Young-bae said. The lawmakers then proposed to the US side a plan to designate a specific region as a free zone to circumvent the Jones Act. “The reaction to that plan was that it was ‘reasonable,'” the lawmakers said, explaining that “without it, no results can be achieved within President Donald Trump’s remaining term.”
Song said, “We conveyed to the United States the view that there is an urgent need to resolve the situation in which Hanwha Ocean has nearly completed building six liquefied natural gas (LNG) icebreaking vessels ordered by Russia but cannot deliver them due to sanctions against Russia stemming from the war in Ukraine.” He explained that the order amounts to nearly 2 trillion won, at 300 billion won per vessel, and that because delivery is impossible, the Russian side has filed a claim for damages with an international commercial arbitration court. Song said he told White House and State Department officials, “If this is not resolved, Hanwha will run into liquidity problems, and then it will have no funds to invest in the ‘MASGA project,’ which is also a loss for the United States.” He also reportedly said, “If Russia’s vessel orders shift to China, it could lead to the development of China’s shipbuilding industry, a situation the United States does not want.”
Kim Young-bae said, “At the official dinner of the Group of Seven (G7) summit, President Trump is said to have asked President Lee Jae-myung about North Korea twice.” Kim said that according to confirmation he obtained from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trump sought advice from Lee along the lines of “dialogue with North Korea isn’t going well, is there any way?” and “what should be done?”