Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said South Korea's recent pledge of 350 billion U.S. dollars to Washington should not require parliamentary ratification.

During a full session of the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee on Monday, Koo said that if the nonbinding memorandum of understanding in place between the two sides were to undergo parliamentary ratification, South Korea would become the only party legally bound by its terms.

Koo said the government regrets not being able to secure a better agreement with the United States, but that it exerted its best efforts under the circumstances.

He continued that Seoul is not providing Washington with 200 billion U.S. dollars for free and that the government has devised multiple layers of security.

Koo said the areas of investment are fields where South Korea is highly competitive, including energy, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

Seoul's pledged 350-billion-dollar U.S.  investment package includes 200 billion dollars in cash and 150 billion dollars in shipbuilding cooperation.