Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination Bang Moon-kyu has defended the government’s response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act(IRA).

During Tuesday’s parliamentary audit of the policy coordination office, Bang countered accusations by main opposition Democratic Party(DP) lawmaker So Byung-chul that Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was indifferent and incompetent as the U.S. passed the IRA.

The minister said Washington aggressively passed the IRA ahead of the November midterm elections, adding that many Democrats in the U.S. Senate were unaware there was movement on the bill excluding electric vehicles made outside North America from tax incentives.

Quoting Politico magazine’s description of the effort to pass the law as “the best kept secret” in Washington, Bang argued that other countries became aware of the law around the same time as South Korea. 

DP lawmaker Kim Jong-min criticized the government for failing to draw up a report projecting the extent of damages for South Korea, saying that it has yet to accurately determine why the IRA is problematic and what impact it could have on the national interest and economy.