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The Democratic Party recaptured both the Senate and House of Representatives in the U.S. midterm elections held on the 3rd, and Congressional checks are expected to be further strengthened for the remaining two years of U.S. President Donald Trump's term.
In this election, three Korean politicians were also elected to the Federal House of Representatives. Rep. Marylin Strickland (Democrat, Washington) was re-elected to her fourth term, Rep. Dave Min (Democrat, California) was re-elected, and Dan Goh, a Democratic Party member, entered Congress for the first time as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.
On the other hand, due to the constituency reorganization, Rep. Young Kim (Republican, California), who ran against Republican Rep. Ken Calvert in the same district, failed to run for a fourth term. Accordingly, there are four Korean-American federal lawmakers in the new Congress, including Senator Andy Kim (Democrat, New Jersey), all of whom are members of the Democratic Party.
BBC Korea asked three Korean lawmakers elected in this election their evaluation of President Trump's Korea-related policies and their plans for future legislative activities.
‘Trump has no consistent strategy’… Concerns about reducing joint training
Representative Strickland told BBC Korea, "Regardless of who is in power, the relationship between Korea and the United States remains strong," but added, "The biggest challenge facing the ROK-US alliance is President Trump and his unpredictable and unqualified leadership."
Representative Strickland, who was born in Seoul and served as mayor of Tacoma, Washington, was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020. He currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee, and last October, he visited Korea to discuss ways to strengthen the ROK-US alliance with Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun.
He took issue with President Trump's approach to North Korea and security policies.
Representative Strickland said that President Trump "continues to jeopardize regional security through his close relationship with the North Korean leadership" and that the United States must maintain a stable cooperative relationship with South Korea, but "this is not President Trump's priority."
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Rep. Dave Min, who is from a Korean immigrant family and served as a California senator before entering the U.S. House of Representatives in 2024, also expressed concerns about the Trump administration's foreign and security policies to BBC Korea.
Rep. Min said that President Trump's policies are putting a strain on the relationship between the two countries and that it is "unclear whether President Trump has a consistent strategy" for Korea-US relations.
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These concerns were also revealed in President Trump's decision to scale back joint military exercises between Korea and the United States.
Last August, President Trump ordered a significant reduction in ROK-US joint exercises due to issues with training costs, his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and the hostile signal sent to North Korea.
Accordingly, the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) joint training, which was scheduled to last 11 days, was shortened to 5 days.
“With President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at the helm, military readiness remains one of my top concerns,” said Strickland, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
He then criticized, saying, “Cutting down joint military training does not help regional security or safety,” and “it does not instill confidence in allies that the United States will fulfill its obligations under the treaty.”
Rep. Min also diagnosed that the reduction in joint training undermines the cooperative relationship between Korea and the United States and jeopardizes the peace that has been maintained for the past several decades.
He criticized President Trump's series of actions, saying they were putting the security of allies, including Korea, at risk.
At the same time, Rep. Min emphasized that these policies do not represent the position of the entire U.S. political community.
Rep. Min added, “The majority of my fellow lawmakers, regardless of whether they are Democratic or Republican, support Korea,” and added, “I know that most high-ranking members of the Trump administration are quietly opposing the president’s dangerous remarks.”
“We will continue to make every effort possible to maintain the ROK-US alliance and deter attacks by Kim Jong-un and North Korea,” he said.
From tariffs to immigration enforcement... Concerns about trust between Korea and the US
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The Trump administration's tariff policy and strong immigration crackdown have also caused controversy in Korea-US relations.
The Trump administration negotiated with South Korea after raising tariffs on South Korea last year, and the two countries announced a trade agreement in which Korea promised to invest $350 billion in the United States in exchange for lowering mutual tariffs.
In addition, last year, an incident occurred where hundreds of Korean workers were detained by immigration authorities at a joint battery factory construction site between Hyundai Motor Company and LG Energy Solutions in the U.S. state of Georgia, creating a stir.
Rep. Min said that the Trump administration's tariff policy and trade war have caused cost burdens and uncertainty for both American and Korean companies, and pointed out that "the Trump administration's hard-line immigration crackdown, including measures targeting Korean workers and companies, has further damaged trust between the two countries."
He went on to say that the Trump administration's tariff policy toward major allies such as South Korea is being pursued inconsistently, and that these measures do not demonstrate a strategy to strengthen alliances or advance U.S. interests in the region.
He emphasized the need to strengthen economic and security cooperation and expand exchanges, saying, "We cannot afford to have one foot in and one foot out" in important alliance relationships.
Strengthening the ROK-US alliance, what are your plans for future legislative activities?
The 120th U.S. Congress, which will be inaugurated on January 3 with the Democratic Party taking the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, will have more power to check the policies of the Trump administration. The new Congress can also influence policies related to Korea-US relations through bill and budget deliberations, hearings, and executive branch oversight.
So what role can Korean lawmakers play to strengthen Korea-US relations?
President-elect Dan Koh, who is entering the Federal Assembly for the first time in this election, was born into an immigrant family from Korea and Lebanon. In the Biden administration, he served as a White House staff member and chief of staff to the Secretary of Labor, and through this election, he became the first Asian member of the House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
President-elect Goh told BBC Korea that he is proud of his Korean roots and said, "I look forward to strengthening Korea-U.S. relations with my colleagues in Congress, Korean allies, and the Korean-American community."
However, he indicated that he would be more deeply involved in specific Korean policies after taking office.
Meanwhile, Rep. Min emphasized the expansion of economic and security cooperation between Korea and the United States and suggested advanced technology fields such as space security and artificial intelligence as major cooperation targets.
Representative Strickland emphasized that “a strong and mutually beneficial alliance benefits all of us,” and identified maintaining bipartisan support for the ROK-US alliance as a top priority.
With all four Korean-born federal lawmakers now belonging to the Democratic Party, attention is being paid to whether the strengthening of the ROK-US alliance that they emphasized can lead to bipartisan cooperation.
