AILSA CHANG, HOST:
South Korea remains a country in political limbo. The National Assembly in Seoul voted to impeach the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, last Saturday. That was after Yoon plunged the country into turmoil by unilaterally declaring martial law. He has justified the move as a necessary act of governance. Well, now Yoon's future rests in the hands of South Korea's constitutional court, which must decide within the next six months whether to remove Yoon from office permanently or reinstate him, all of which could have important implications for South Korea's closest ally, the United States. Philip Goldberg is the U.S. ambassador to South Korea. He joins us now from Seoul. Welcome.
PHILIP GOLDBERG: Thank you very much.
CHANG: How much in contact are you with the current Prime Minister and other officials currently holding power now?
GOLDBERG: Very much. On a daily basis, I'm in contact with people in the government, with the foreign minister, with the acting president, who I know very well. It is certainly close contact at this point. We also have contact...
CHANG: What have you told them is the U.S. position on all of this?
GOLDBERG: Well, our position is that we support the transitional government as it tries to govern during this period. President Biden had a phone conversation with the acting president on Sunday. So, yes, this is moving forward. In terms of our relationship, it's clearly an unusual period but one where we are going to remain closely in touch. I'm also in touch with members of the opposition, which is the majority in National Assembly. Meeting, and talking to all of the political actors here as they try to stabilize the situation moving forward.
CHANG: Well, I ask about how you're expressing the U.S. position because the Biden administration does consider South Korea a key partner. But President Yoon's declaration of martial law has been widely described as a self coup, I mean, the kind of move an authoritarian leader might make. And I know that the U.S. embassy has expressed relief that the martial law decree was later lifted, but you have not publicly condemned Yoon for his actions. Does the U.S. condemn Yoon for endangering democracy in his country?
GOLDBERG: So what I have said and what I will continue to say is that this was a sad and disappointing period, something that's hard to fathom in this hard-won democracy in Korea. It's equally hard to fathom among the community of Democratic nations. It was an undemocratic act and something that we, of course, expressed grave concern about during the six hours it was in effect. Now we're in the process of supporting a transitional - an interim government that is laid out in their constitution, that is part of the Democratic process. That's our role. They are a close ally of the United States.
CHANG: Do you have any concerns as to how the political instability in Seoul right now could affect larger U.S. diplomatic goals in that region of the world to counter China's rising influence?
GOLDBERG: The current situation is something that we need to continue to help the Koreans through as they work on their democratic and constitutional process. I don't think, certainly under the interim government, that any of it is in danger. No.
CHANG: I want to turn to the next administration. President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to raise tariffs significantly on U.S. trading partners. Is that something you are talking to South Korean officials about right now in the middle of this whole political crisis? Like, are they expressing their concerns about that?
GOLDBERG: Well, I have to tell you on this particular day, I don't represent the Trump administration.
CHANG: I understand.
GOLDBERG: I represent the Biden administration.
CHANG: But are they expressing concerns to you now as the current ambassador?
GOLDBERG: Well, what I can tell you is that if you read the newspapers here, you watch television, you certainly have a conversation here going on about tariffs, about electric vehicles, about security arrangement. Sure. It's only natural.
CHANG: Philip Goldberg is the U.S. ambassador to South Korea. He was speaking to us from Seoul. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us, ambassador.
GOLDBERG: Thanks very much, Ailsa.
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