Is US$ 350 billion investment for 15% tariff rate a good deal?

Now let's break this down and touch on the important aspects of this trade deal.

We have our Kim Do-yeon here in the studio with us.

First what a build-up of a couple of weeks to this point.

And officials say it's not done.

What does this mean?

That's right, Dami.

The dust is settling — we now know a 15-percent tariff will apply.

But as you mentioned, it's not over.

Negotiations may be done for now, but the broader fight over tariffs and the investment details is far from settled.

First here's what Deputy Prime Minister Koo Yun-cheol, who led the negotiations in Washington, had to say.

"A 15-percent tariff is undoubtedly challenging, especially for a country that has a free trade agreement with the U.S. But if our companies can leverage their creativity and competitiveness, this could turn into a new opportunity. While the broader agreement is done, we will continue to work out the specifics through further talks with the U.S."

Still, at least for now, the agreement was welcomed by Korea's six largest business groups including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Korea Enterprises Federation.

They issued a joint statement backing the outcome, noting that the focus areas for investment — shipbuilding, semiconductors, batteries, and bio — are strategic industries where Korea holds global competitiveness.

Their hope: this will help Korean firms gain more market share in the U.S.

We do need to focus on MASGA the shipbuilding aspect of the investment and the other 200 billion U.S. dollar investment.

Let's cut to the chase is this a good deal?

To answer that, let's look at how the government frames it especially in contrast to Japan, Korea's biggest rival in the U.S. trade market.

Japan recently pledged a 550 billion dollar investment in return for a similar tariff deal.

"South Korea has a trade surplus of 66 billion dollars with the U.S., while Japan's is around 68-point-5 billion. Yet our total investment fund is smaller. If you exclude the 150 billion led by our own companies, our actual contribution is 200 billion—just 36 percent the size of Japan's."

That 150 billion refers to MASGA — a South Korea-led shipbuilding initiative, seen as a cornerstone of this agreement.

The rest, the 200 billion, will be largely controlled by the U.S.

Seoul has been keen to highlight this structure to draw a distinction from Japan's pledge.

Japan's 550 billion dollar investment is like Korea's 200 billion dollar investment with U.S. leading it

President Trump after Japan's deal announcement said "90 percent of the profits go to the U.S."

Okay, but in terms of tariff rates while South Korea enjoyed no tariffs it's now at the same level as Japan.

So all in all, what can we say about this?

That's right, Dami. Some may say all that investment, but higher tariff rates.

But the FTA era is largely seen as already over by many experts and expecting to keep no tariffs was really a big hope.

So the playing field might be levelled right now and Korean industries will need to work on this going forward.

Take a listen to an expert.

"The real game has now started. This is because we only have the framework and a brief agreement. There isn't a detailed plan out there. Will this deal impact South Korea positively and lead to a boost in the domestic economy? That's the bigger issue."

But to highlight companies that will be impacted it's the automakers.

When it comes to cars, an industry with fierce competition, while Korean cars were tariff-free their competitors, Japan and the EU, paid 2-point-5 percent.

Now, that advantage has disappeared, leveling the playing field in terms of price competitiveness.

What's also interesting is the negotiation process.

This deal came just two days before the 25-percent tariffs were about to kick in.

Tell us about the pressure and tactics Korean officials used that we know so far.

That's right South Korea, as one of the major trade partners with the U.S., was one of the last ones to finalize this deal.

Having said that, the new administration only kicked off last month, and it needed some time to finalize the Cabinet to form this trade delegation.

And when that was started, the discussions with the U.S. and even within the Korean government, weren't so easy.

"They brought up various issues, things like the age limit for cattle and rice, which are already well-known points of contention. Naturally, there were heated exchanges. Even within our own government, when discussing negotiation strategies, there were raised voices between ministries."

Now, agriculture and livestock market access was a contentious issue, but was not included in the deal, despite strong pressure from the U.S.

There were concerns for Korean farmers leading up to the negotiations as well.

Officials revealed that during negotiations, they presented a photo from the 2008 mass protests in South Korea against U.S. beef imports—which drew over 10 million demonstrators reminding U.S. officials it's a red line for them.

On another side note, while President Trump did not meet with any other trade delegations, he made time to meet with South Korean officials.

He later said this was a sign of his "respect for South Korea."