25 February 2022 | KOREA CHAIR EXPLAINS
Ramon Pacheco Pardo
Arguably, the main long-term foreign legacy of the Moon presidency will be its growing involvement in global discussions. Certainly, this is not new. South Korea has become an increasingly important foreign policy actor as a result of its economic development, military build-up, democratic credentials and, it should be noted, geographical location. However, South Korea’s involvement in global discussions has grown during the Moon presidency as the Sino-American rivalry has grown and, in politico-diplomatic terms, Seoul has sided with its fellow democracies. Thus, South Korea was invited to attend the 2020 and 2021 G7 summits, even if the 2020 one was cancelled. Furthermore, Moon was one of the speakers at the Summit for Democracy convened by US President Joe Biden. And South Korea has also been part of meetings and discussions about global supply chains or technology involving fellow democracies. Seoul also convened the P4G summit and the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in 2021. In recent weeks, South Korea has also been part of discussions with partners about the design of sanctions to be imposed on Russia if it invaded Ukraine, as Moscow has finally done. Once the invasion has taken place, Seoul has gone ahead and joined sanctions. The next South Korean president will no doubt seek to build on this legacy to continue to position Seoul as a key global actor. Read more…