SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Yonhap) -- Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn told lawmakers on Tuesday that South Korea is preparing for "all possibilities" in policy shifts under the incoming Republican U.S. government.

His remarks came amid growing concerns that the Donald Trump administration, set to take office on Jan. 20, might seek to renegotiate a set of bilateral deals such as a free trade agreement (FTA) and a cost-sharing arrangement to maintain some 28,500 U.S. troops in Korea.

"We have been preparing for all possibilities, and have devised and pushed for multi-faceted measures (to cope with them)," Hwang said during a parliamentary interpellation session on economic issues.

"We have various diplomatic channels up and running, and I have heard that (Seoul) officials contacted the Trump team during the election campaign more than 100 times. We are now at the beginning (of building ties with the incoming administration)," he added.





On the stump, Trump had unnerved U.S. allies, including South Korea and Japan, with a series of negative remarks about U.S. security commitments overseas and free trade deals.

Trump argued that allies should pay 100 percent of the cost of stationing U.S. troops and claimed the South Korea-U.S. FTA cost American jobs.

Hwang defended the bilateral FTA as a "broad framework for economic cooperation" between the two countries.

"Although U.S. President-elect Trump had made a lot of remarks, he, after all, vowed to keep the Korea-U.S. relationship steadfast through a telephone conversation (with President Park Geun-hye)," Hwang said.

"Based on this, the government, along with the civilian sector, will have close consultations with the new government (in the U.S.) and try to ensure that there would not be any damage in the South Korea-U.S. relationship or any problems related to the FTA."

Meanwhile, Hwang dismissed speculation over his possible run for the presidency.

Some members of the ruling Saenuri Party, particularly those loyal to President Park, have floated the idea of fielding him as a candidate in next year's presidential race. Hwang flatly denied this, saying he has "no intention" of throwing his hat into the ring.

During the same session Yoo Il-ho, deputy prime minister for economic affairs, suggested that the government may revise downward its 2017 economic growth forecast, currently set at 3 percent, amid sluggish exports and flagging domestic consumption.

"Due to downside risks, we are in a situation where it is difficult to maintain the 3-percent growth that we anticipated while submitting our budget proposal for next year," Yoo said. "We will give you a more exact number when we announce the 2017 economic outlook next week."

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