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OPINION:
On June 3, South Korea turned the page and embarked on a journey of peace and prosperity. Lee Jae-myung handily won the presidential election, succeeding a disgraced Yoon Suk Yeol, who failed in his attempt to impose martial law on South Korea, a vibrant democracy.
Mr. Lee’s June 4 acceptance speech focused on reviving South Korea’s ailing economy, while remaining mindful of security, peace and democracy. He emphasized: “Reinforcing the Korea-U.S. alliance, strengthening trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and Japan and approaching relations with neighboring countries through the lens of practicality and national interest.”
Mr. Lee also spoke about the importance of inter-Korean dialogue, the provision of humanitarian assistance to North Korea and economic cooperation with the goal of peaceful Korean unification.
The transition from a conservative to a relatively liberal administration comes at a pivotal time for South Korea and others in the region. China is South Korea’s leading trading partner, with more than 26% of Korea’s exports going to China and more than 21% of imports coming from China. The U.S. is a distant second major trading partner with South Korea, with exports to the U.S. at about 18%. But it’s more than trade — and tariffs — that truly reflects U.S.-South Korea relations.
It goes back to the Korean War, the tens of thousands of U.S. and South Korean casualties and the 1953 Armistice Agreement that brought an end to the fighting and gave rise to the subsequent Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries. Currently, there are over 28,000 U.S. troops in South Korea with the U.S. Forces in Korea Command — one of three commands, in addition to the Joint and United Nations Commands, established after the Korean War. Indeed, it’s the U.S. military presence that serves as the trip wire that deters North Korea from provoking or invading South Korea.
Mr. Lee also noted in his acceptance speech that South Korea “[w]ill expand Korea’s diplomatic reach, raise our international stature and enlarge our economic territory.”
The U.S. has made it abundantly clear that the U.S. is pivoting to the Indo-Pacific region. At the recent Shangri-la Defense Forum, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said: “[W]e will not be pushed out of this critical region. And we will not let our allies and partners be subordinated and intimidated. China seeks to become a hegemonic power in Asia … It hopes to dominate and control too many parts of this vibrant and vital region. … China’s behavior towards its neighbors and the world is a wake-up call. And an urgent one.”
Mr. Hegseth went on to criticize China for its actions to change the status quo in the South China Sea and the First Island Chain by force or coercion, as well as its military harassment of Taiwan. These were powerful statements. China responded, accusing Mr. Hegseth of fomenting a Cold War environment.
Mr. Lee has appointed many smart, experienced members to his Cabinet. They certainly will help him navigate relations with the U.S. and China. Indeed, it should be clear, since the Korean War, that South Korea’s true ally is the U.S.
No doubt, the Korean people remember China’s reaction to the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment in 2016 and the punitive economic measures taken by Beijing to economically punish South Korea. So yes, China has the economic tools to make life difficult for South Korea, and South Korea’s relationship with China is important to it for trade and other reasons — but the U.S., as South Korea’s second largest trading partner and national security ally, will always be there for South Korea. It’s equally important that South Korea not be shy in stating that it is with the U.S. in the South China Sea, Taiwan and the whole of the Indo-Pacific region.
And Mr. Lee’s efforts to reinstate an inter-Korean dialogue should be applauded. After four years of literally no contact with North Korea — while that country built more nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, signed a mutual defense treaty with Russia and militarily supported Russia’s war with Ukraine — it’s time for a new approach to North Korea. Hopefully, that includes the Trump administration also reaching out to Kim Jong Un with some creative initiatives to get North Korea to, at a minimum, cease producing fissile material for nuclear weapons in return for a dialogue on sanctions relief and a path to normalization of relations.
These are just a few of the issues the new Lee administration will be confronting. We wish him great success.
• The author is the former special envoy for Six Party negotiations with North Korea and the former director of the National Counterproliferation Center and Associate Director of National Intelligence. The views are the author’s and not any government agency or department.
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