2025: South Korea’s surprising continuity in foreign policy

Last December, Korean politics experienced an unexpected crisis when President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law across the country. In the months that followed, the country faced political uncertainty and deepening divisions that ultimately ended in Yoon’s impeachment and the subsequent election of opposition leader Lee Jae Myung as the next president. The turnover in government sparked speculation — and even anxiety —about potential shifts in South Korea’s foreign policy. In contrast to the Yoon government’s “value-based diplomacy” focused on explicit strategic alignment with the U.S. and Japan and hardline policies toward North Korea and Russia, some policy analysts predicted that Lee’s “pragmatic, national interest-based” diplomacy would seek greater strategic distance from the U.S. and Japan and renew more conciliatory policies toward North Korea and Russia. The first year of Lee’s government, however, has largely shown continuity in foreign policy. While South Korea’s domestic politics has continued to experience polarization and unrest, there has been fa