South Korea’s new progressive president is likely to adopt a more “prudent” stance on Taiwan than his predecessor and focus on boosting economic ties with Beijing, according to observers. But they also expect continuity in trilateral military cooperation with the US and Japan.
Lee Jae-myung was sworn in after winning a snap election held on Tuesday, two months after his predecessor – Yoon Suk-yeol – was impeached and removed over his abrupt declaration of martial law in December.
Lee and his progressive Democratic Party of Korea are largely regarded as more friendly towards China and North Korea compared to Yoon and his conservative People Power Party. The power shift has prompted speculation about a potential recalibration in Seoul’s foreign policy towards the US and fellow American treaty ally Japan, as well as China and traditional adversary North Korea.
During his 2022 presidential campaign against Yoon, Lee faced criticism for describing US Forces Korea (USFK) as “occupation forces”.
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South Korea’s new president Lee Jae-myung vows to fix economy, hold talks with North Korea
South Korea’s new president Lee Jae-myung vows to fix economy, hold talks with North Korea
Under Yoon, Seoul emphasised its commitment to the US alliance and stronger three-way cooperation with Washington and Tokyo in addressing security challenges outside the Korean peninsula. This included expressing concerns about People’s Liberation Army activities in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
The US, Japan and South Korea marked a historic milestone in August 2023, when their leaders met at Camp David for their first-ever stand-alone trilateral summit. In a joint statement, they pledged to carry out regular annual multi-domain three-way exercises and “strongly oppose” Beijing’s “unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the waters of the Indo-Pacific”, specifically in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
