South Korea's Polarizing Election: The Future of East Asia Geopolitics

800 21st Street Northwest,Washington DC 20052

06 April, 2022

Description

Come join us for our Spring 2022 semester panel discussion!! We can't wait to see you or see you again!! After months of drama, scandals, and mudslinging, Yoon Seok-yeol, the candidate of the People Power Party and former prosecutor general, was elected South Korea's 20th president on March 10, defeating Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea by a narrow margin of 48.56 % to 47.83 %. In the previous campaign, Yoon repeatedly criticized President Moon's approach to peaceful dialogue on the North Korean nuclear issue, mild attitude toward China, and his "strategic ambiguity" between China and the United States. Yoon has claimed to strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance relationship during his campaign. Yoon is open to the deployment of more missiles in THAAD by the United States in South Korea and does not oppose further defense cooperation between South Korea and Japan. Yoon said if he is elected president of South Korea, he will ask the United States to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea. It is likely that South Korea will engage with the U.S. on various issues and support the U.S. Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. He views North Korea with greater skepticism than the Moon government which pushed for inter-Korea engagement and an end-of-war declaration. Yoon has consistently conveyed his desire to improve relations with Japan during the campaign and he shares a similar foreign policy view towards North Korea with Tokyo’s, which might lead to deeper cooperation. In his first press conference after his election victory, he continued to stress the need to rebuild south Korea-U.S., South Korea-Japan relations and make South Korea a "global hub," while toning down his rhetoric on relations with China and North Korea, saying the door would remain open to developing a relationship on the basis of mutual respect. It is still not clear how will Yoon position his foreign policy. Inauguration Day for the president will be on May 10. Until then, Yoon will still work on the transition with the current president. Yoon’s foreign policy vision will have a pivotal impact on the future of East Asian geopolitics. For this panel, the China Development Student Think Tank (CDSTT) will discuss the election results and the potential foreign policy of Yoon Seok-yeol, inviting experts on Korean and East Asian affairs to interpret the prospects of East Asia political dynamic.