Lee Jae-myung, the next president of South Korea, won handily, but his honeymoon will not last the day.
Usually given to new leaders, the two-month transition time is not being enjoyed by the former opposition leader, thus they may assemble their team and precisely define their vision for the nation.
Rather, he is starting office right now to cover the void left by the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who last December attempted but failed to impose martial control across the nation.
With over 50% of the vote, South Koreans have fiercely opposed the military dictatorship nearly imposed upon them in choosing Lee. Following a turbulent and controversial six months, Lee ran on the promise of bolstering South Korea’s democracy and bringing the nation together.
Trump might upset South Korea’s security, economy, and delicate ties with North Korea in the next months.
After already imposing harsh tariffs on its main industries, steel and autos, South Koreans were horrified when Trump placed 25% taxes on all Korean imports in April. Having a free-trade deal with the US and being long-standing military allies from the days of the Korean War would have spared them, they had thought.
A seasoned Democratic Party advisor, Moon Chung-in, said, “should these tariffs take effect they could trigger an economic crisis”.
South Korea’s economy was already declining considerably before Trump made his statements. The disorder of the martial law further limited it. It then slumped in the first quarter of this year. Voters’ first demand is repairing this, even above their battered democracy.
Elbridge Colby, a now-senior US defense official, claimed last year that South Korea would have to shoulder “overwhelming responsibility for its own self-defence against North Korea”, so preparing the US for battle against China.
One possibility is that the military stationed here would concentrate on limiting China instead. Another, promoted by some US defense officials last month, is that Seoul’s military would also have to help to discourage Beijing and that thousands of troops would be taken off the peninsula entirely and reassocated.
This would not only put South Korea in a dangerously military position but also generate a diplomatically challenging one.
Historically dubious of Korea’s association with the US, President Lee wants to use his presidency to mend ties with China, the strong neighbor and commercial partner of Korea. Several times he has said South Korea should keep out of a dispute between China and Taiwan.
“We have to maintain our distance from a situation between China-Taiwan. We can get along with both,” he remarked during a last month televised discussion.
