Lee Jae-myung changes tune on foreign policy ahead of presidential election

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Lee Jae-myung changes tune on foreign policy ahead of presidential election

Published: 23 Apr. 2025, 18:43 Updated: 23 Apr. 2025, 19:49

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, left, shakes hands with acting U.S. Ambassador to Korea Joseph Yun at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Jan. 22. [NEWS1]

For much of the past three years, Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) positioned himself squarely in opposition to the foreign policy agenda of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The former DP leader and current presidential front-runner was an outspoken critic of Yoon’s decision to pursue military cooperation with Japan against North Korea’s advancing weapons program and argued South Korea’s close alignment with the United States would imperil relations with China.

But following Yoon’s impeachment in December last year — which eventually triggered an early presidential election scheduled for June 3 — Lee has noticeably recalibrated his tone on how Korea should approach its neighbors and alliance with the United States.

As the DP front-runner and presumptive favorite to succeed Yoon, Lee has begun assembling a seasoned team of foreign policy advisers and signaling a more measured approach to diplomacy.

Seeking advice

While Lee’s campaign has focused mainly on domestic issues, his foreign policy rhetoric has shifted significantly. Party officials say he is working behind the scenes to bolster his diplomatic credentials by enlisting experienced hands to help reshape his platform.

Among his key advisers is Rep. Wi Sung-lac, a former ambassador to Russia who once headed the Foreign Ministry’s North American Affairs Bureau during the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

Lee has also brought in Kim Hyun-jong, a former trade minister and national security official; Cho Hyun, South Korea’s ex-envoy to the United Nations; and Jeong Se-hyun, a two-time unification minister. Perhaps most notably, Moon Chung-in — an influential voice on North Korea and a former adviser to President Moon Jae-in — is also part of the fold.

Analysts see the recruitment as a strategic move to address what has long been viewed as a vulnerability in Lee’s profile: his limited foreign policy experience. It also signals to international partners that a Lee administration would bring stability and continuity, rather than disruption, to South Korea’s diplomatic posture.

Warming to the U.S. alliance

Changes in Lee’s approach to foreign policy are most evident in his comments on the United States.

Once openly skeptical of the military alliance — he previously referred to American troops in South Korea as an “occupation force” that enabled colonial collaborators to retain power — Lee has adopted a far more positive tone in recent months.

On the eve of Yoon’s impeachment, Lee expressed gratitude to the United States and other allies for supporting South Korea and promised his party would “fulfill its duty as a constituent of the global community of liberal democracies.”

A month later, during a party leadership meeting, he went further, praising the bilateral alliance and expressing confidence it would “continue to strengthen.”

Following U.S. President Donald Trump's inauguration in January, Lee met with acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Joseph Yun at the National Assembly and said he was committed to “strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance and firmly upholding our shared responsibilities as part of the free democratic bloc.”

With such comments, Lee appeared to move closer to South Korean conservatives, who have traditionally touted the U.S. alliance more than liberals.

While Lee has stopped short of embracing all aspects of U.S. military strategy to contain China, his recent remarks suggest a growing recognition of the alliance’s strategic value — especially amid North Korea’s continued weapons development and mounting geopolitical competition in the region.

Easing rhetoric on Japan

Nowhere has Lee’s rhetorical shift been more striking than in his posture toward Japan.

In 2022, he warned that trilateral military cooperation could see “the Rising Sun flag flying once more over the Korean Peninsula,” referring to Japan’s 1910-45 colonial occupation of Korea, and denounced Tokyo’s plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant as the “start of a second Pacific War.”

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, center, and other members of the Democratic Party hold up placards calling on Japan to stop releasing treated wastewater from the ruined Fukushima nuclear power plant during a rally in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Aug. 25, 2023. [YONHAP]

These comments led critics to accuse him of inflaming nationalist sentiment for political gain.

But since Yoon’s ouster, Lee has taken a more moderate approach toward Tokyo.

According to the DP, Lee told the U.S. and Japanese ambassadors in December that trilateral security cooperation would continue uninterrupted.

In a February interview with The Economist, he said he has “no objection” to Japan bolstering its military and expressed “deep affection” for the country after seeing the “diligence, sincerity and courtesy” of its people during a visit.

Lee also now contends that his earlier critiques were not about opposing Japan per se, but about resisting what he called Yoon’s “submissive” diplomacy vis-à-vis Tokyo.

He maintains that the two countries’ historical disputes remain papered over, not resolved — but he no longer explicitly suggests they are deal-breakers for continued cooperation.

Ambiguity on China

Lee’s position on China remains more ambiguous. Previously accused of appeasing Beijing, Lee now frames his approach as “pragmatic,” though specifics remain scarce.

In June 2023, Lee was pilloried for sitting silently alongside former Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming as the envoy issued a veiled warning against the Yoon administration for “betting against China” and aligning South Korea more closely with the United States.

Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming, right, speaks during a meeting with Rep. Lee Jae-myung at his official residence in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul on June 8, 2023. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The DP front-runner was also widely criticized for suggesting in March 2024 that South Korea could avoid being mired in international tensions over Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims is a renegade province, by “simply saying xie-xie to both,” referring to the Mandarin word for “thank you.”

But since Yoon was impeached, the DP front-runner has said little about how he would approach Beijing.

In his newly published book “The People Will Do It Eventually,” Lee cautioned that South Korea must walk a fine line in the growing U.S.-China rivalry.

“We should not undercut our alliance with the United States,” he wrote, “but we also should not emphasize it too much, as it could alienate other countries.”

His advisers have echoed this sentiment, suggesting the DP front-runner intends to pursue a foreign policy rooted less in ideology than in balance and flexibility.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]