President Lee Jae Myung reportedly said that cementing Seoul's trade deal with Washington, in its current form, could be disastrous for South Korea's economy.
 
In an interview with Reuters released Monday, the president said investing 350 billion dollars in cash in the U.S. economy without a currency swap, in the manner the United States is demanding, could spark a meltdown rivaling its 1997 financial crisis.

Seoul and Washington agreed to a trade deal in July in which the U.S. would lower its tariffs on South Korean goods in exchange for 350 billion dollars in investment from South Korea, but Lee says the two sides have yet to sign the deal because of disputes over how the investment would be handled.

Lee also spoke about a recent U.S. immigration raid that resulted in the detention of more than 300 South Korean workers in Georgia.

Lee said that South Koreans were naturally angered by the harsh treatment of the workers but that the raid would not undermine the bilateral alliance.

He said he did not believe the raid was intentional, that the U.S. has apologized for the incident and that the two sides are working to rectify the matter.