South Korea election offers opportunity for US Indo-Pacific strategy

South Korea has a new president-elect. Following an incredibly tight race, Yoon Suk-yeol, the conservative candidate from the People’s Power Party, was able to pull ahead of his main rival candidate, Lee Jae-myung, to win South Korea’s 20th presidential election. With this, the international community can expect a foreign policy agenda from South Korea that is drastically different from the one that current President Moon Jae-in has pursued for the past five years.

The close-fought election means the leadership in Seoul will change from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, offering the United States and its partners a unique opportunity to engage more with South Korea. Specifically, South Korea could play an increasingly pivotal role in the Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, which stresses the importance of having partners and allies play a more active role in the region.  

During his run for presidency, Yoon, a career prosecutor, had expressed remorse that South Korea has been a timid actor in the international community, despite having the tools to take more of a leadership role in combating global challenges and the constant challenges from North Korea.

Now, there likely will be a shift in Seoul toward having more discussion with its neighbors and partners. Yoon has stated that he wishes to engage in dialogue with the Quad — the United States, Australia, Japan and India — regarding the Indo-Pacific region and the threats it faces. Increased trilateral cooperation between Washington, Tokyo and Seoul is also something to which we can look forward; Yoon aims to have a more forward-thinking outlook regarding Japan, despite the historical tensions that have impeded relations in the past.

The tepid relationship between Seoul and Tokyo has been a particular area of interest in Washington. The Biden administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy makes clear that Washington would prefer that its two closest allies in northeast Asia work together. And so, this change in South Korean leadership presents an interesting opportunity for engagement with Japan’s Kishida administration as well.

Additionally, Yoon has expressed a desire to take a firmer stance regarding aggression by China, unlike his predecessor who was criticized for being too lenient. Rather than taking a stance of ambiguity, Seoul is now likely to be more open to cooperating with Washington to compete with China, especially on emerging issues such as supply chain resilience and cybersecurity. Certainly, there’s a lot of concern about the reliance that South Korean and other foreign companies place on the Chinese market and the vulnerabilities this can create. 

Regarding North Korea, Yoon also may be more aligned with the United States. During his campaign, Yoon was critical of the Moon administration and its compromising stance with North Korea and its leader Kim Jong Un. The efficacy of the Moon administration’s approach is debatable given recent reports that North Korea has resumed construction at one of its nuclear testing facilities. 

We can expect that Seoul will be less compromising with Pyongyang under Yoon unless there is complete denuclearization. Yoon has said he will take greater issue with North Korea’s human rights abuses, along with bolstering South Korea’s defensive capabilities. 

All in all, a more conservative approach to South Korea’s foreign policy should be warmly welcomed by members of the Quad. It’s important that Washington now take the appropriate steps necessary to ensure its working relationship with Seoul continues in lockstep — not just on defense matters but also on the growing economic concerns in the region. South Korea’s participation will be essential to implementing the administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework later this year.

This means thinking about opportunities for U.S.-South Korea engagement, as well as multilateral engagement with partners such as Japan. This can include digital issues, telecommunications policies such as supporting open radio access networks, export controls, and foreign investment screening. But it also means encouraging the Senate to pass confirmation of a U.S. ambassador to South Korea sooner than later. 

Yoon’s victory presents the Biden administration with a chance to work more closely with South Korea. It’s important that President Biden doesn’t allow this opportunity to go to waste.

Riley Walters is deputy director of the Japan Chair at the Hudson Institute. Follow him on Twitter @WalteRiley. Alice Kim, a member of Hudson Institute’s internship program, contributed to this article.