Peter S. Kim, managing director and head of Global Business Group at KB Securities, speaks during a Jan. 8 roundtable held by The Korea Times on Trump 2.0’s impact on Korean economy and its financial market, in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States on Monday. Entering the White House for the second time, Trump is threatening to impose a universal tariff on all imported goods, including a 60 percent tariff against China. His America First policy initiatives and unpredictability have left many economies preparing for and bracing for the shocks.

The Korea Times hosted a roundtable with financial and economic experts on Jan. 8 to assess Trump's impact on Korea in 2025. One of Korea's visible weaknesses, the depreciating Korean won, was discussed in relation to the strong dollar. Roundtable participants remained cautiously alert about the semiconductor and auto sectors, while noting that the shipbuilding, energy, and financial sectors would benefit from the Trump presidency. They also recommended expediting the full implementation of the Corporate Value-up Program. To spur growth, the panelists agreed that the Korean government should employ a mix of fiscal and monetary policies this year.

The panel was composed of Peter S. Kim, managing director and head of Global Business Group at KB Securities; Park Chong-hoon, head of research for Korea Financial Markets at Standard Chartered Bank Korea; and Joo Won, deputy director of economic research at the Hyundai Research Institute. The Korea Times' Chief Editorial Writer Shim Jae-yun moderated the discussion.

Q: Trump has pledged high tariffs, 60 percent for China and blanket 10 to 20 percent universal tariffs. What will the consequences be, how will it affect Korea and what should our response be?

Peter S. Kim: There are a lot of concerns and uncertainties around Trump's first few months. We should remind our investors that his second term is likely to be quite different. He is going to be much more aggressive during the early part of his second term. On tariffs, I think Trump 2.0 will be aggressive in the early days, strategically focused on certain countries and products. The inflation from his tariffs will take at least a year or two before it gets translated into consumer price index data. The first six to 12 months will lead to volatility, but the equity market, particularly the U.S. equity market, will be fairly constructive.

Park Chong-hoon, head of research for Korea Financial Markets at Standard Chartered Bank Korea, speaks during a Jan. 8 roundtable held by The Korea Times on Trump 2.0’s impact on Korean economy and its financial market, in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Park Chong-hoon: Trump will be more prepared and take action faster in his second term. There, however, will be both risk and opportunity depending on what agreement we have with the U.S. China will be severely affected, and if we face similar situations as China, we will look for ways to cooperate, such as through foreign trade agreements between China, Korea and Japan.

Joo Won: There will be three types........

© The Korea Times