South Korea Moves Away From Former Indo-Pacific Strategy
EAST ASIA FORUM
APLN Policy Fellow Dongkeun Lee wrote on South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy and its relationship with NATO under the Lee Jae Myung administration. He noted that while existing South Korea–NATO ties are unlikely to be severed due to political and strategic risks, the historic level of cooperation seen under Yoon Suk Yeol is unlikely to continue as Lee adopts a more pragmatic approach.
South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy is unlikely to survive under newly elected Lee Jae Myung’s administration. Unlike previous national strategies, the Indo-Pacific Strategy broadened South Korea’s strategic scope from the Korean Peninsula to the wider Indo-Pacific region, marking a significant policy shift.
The Indo-Pacific strategy identified several challenges to the rules-based international order as key security concerns. The strategy addressed multiple sub-regional issues Seoul had previously overlooked, including disputes in the South China Sea. In alignment with the Indo-Pacific Strategy, the former administration under Yoon Suk Yeol also announced its vision of becoming a ‘Global Pivotal State’ emphasising South Korea’s role as an agenda-setter in preserving the liberal international order. This vision was reaffirmed in the Yoon administration’s 2023 National Security Strategy.
South Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy emphasised a connection between the region and Europe under the vision of the Global Pivotal State. The strategy depicted European nations as key partners with shared values including liberalism, democracy and human rights. As part of this, the Yoon administration established a diplomatic mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), consistently participated in NATO summits, while elevating South Korea’s cooperation with NATO by signing various agreements, including the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme.
Security cooperation between South Korea and NATO is likely to enter a new phase under Lee. It remains uncertain whether the new administration will continue the former’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, raising questions about the future of South Korea’s security cooperation with Europe and North America.
The geopolitical risks facing South Korea persist. North Korea’s cooperation with Russia remains strong, and China’s increased maritime activities in contested waters continue. But Lee’s approaches to these issues are expected to differ significantly from Yoon’s. Rather than addressing these security challenges by rigorously expanding security partnerships with key allies, the Lee administration has chosen a ‘pragmatic’ approach, engaging with China and Russia as part of South Korea’s security architecture.
Lee clearly indicated during the election campaign that his administration would no longer pursue the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the former Yoon administration. Notably, the term ‘Indo-Pacific region’ was never mentioned in his election pledges. Instead, his campaign signalled a return to the ‘New Southern Policy’ and ‘New Northern Policy’ of the 2017–22 Moon Jae-in administration. The strategic orientation of these policies is clear — they emphasise ‘pragmatism’, an approach Lee has long advocated for, creating opportunities for cooperation.
The New Northern Policy opens the possibility for South Korea to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative and improve relations with Russia. This aligns closely with Lee’s pragmatic stance, which favours preventing further deterioration in these ties. Meanwhile, the Lee administration faces the dilemma of differentiating its foreign policy from Moon’s, especially given polarised domestic views on Seoul’s China policies.
Read the article here.
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