Winter is coming: Apathy in the election season as security risks rise

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Winter is coming: Apathy in the election season as security risks rise

Published: 27 May. 2025, 00:03

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Yoo Jee-hye

The author is the head of the diplomatic and security news department at the JoongAng Ilbo.

A few years ago, during a KBO game, the home team faced a tie in the bottom of the ninth with runners on second and third and one out. A routine fly ball would likely seal a walk-off win — either by a sacrifice fly or a missed catch. The team I was rooting for was on defense. The batter connected well, sending the ball to deep center field. Game over, or so it seemed.

But the center fielder sprinted toward the wall, leaped with full force, and caught the ball while crashing into the fence. The crowd gasped. Why go to such lengths in a game that was virtually lost?

From left to right, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida conduct a joint press conference following a trilateral summit meeting at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland on Aug. 18, 2023. [YONHAP]

It was the first of a three-game series. The player’s determination said one thing: Tomorrow doesn’t have to be like today.

That moment came to mind while watching the current presidential election unfold. Despite the unique circumstances of this early election, never before has a national vote felt so devoid of urgency or conviction.

The Democratic Party appears as if it is already governing. Lee Jae-myung, the party’s candidate, recently backed away from a controversial proposal to allow nonjudges to be appointed to the Supreme Court — a move he initially supported. The proposal reflected a sense of entitlement, not electoral modesty.

The People Power Party, by contrast, seems to lurch forward without direction. Its candidate, Kim Moon-soo, has offered little clarity on policy, despite public support for health care reform. His abrupt apology to doctors — during which he called them “second only to God” — left many unsure of where he stands or what he intends to do.

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks with Xing Haiming, then Chinese ambassador to Korea, while touring the Chinese ambassador’s residence in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, on June 8, 2023. [NEWS1]

Even more troubling is the near absence of foreign policy and security from the campaign agenda. At a time when the regional security landscape is tense, this silence is dangerous. Although Seoul and Washington quickly denied a report that the Pentagon is reviewing a potential reduction of U.S. forces in Korea, the story — first broken by a reputable U.S. outlet — is not something to be dismissed. After all, U.S. President Donald Trump has raised the idea himself multiple times.

Strategically, any shift in troop posture would likely relate to the United States’ broader effort to pressure and contain China. U.S. Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson recently remarked that Korea is “like a stationary aircraft carrier between Japan and mainland China,” and that U.S. forces are not focused solely on deterring North Korea. His comments effectively affirmed an expanded role for U.S. troops while countering speculation that the alliance has outlived its purpose.

Regardless of who leads the White House, it is increasingly evident that the role of the U.S.-Korea alliance is evolving. This trend likely would have continued even under a second Joe Biden administration.

Consider the trilateral summit held at Camp David in 2023, where the United States, South Korea and Japan jointly named China as the actor behind “dangerous and aggressive behavior supporting illegal maritime claims.” The focus of their joint statement placed China’s actions — rather than North Korea’s provocations — at the top of the regional security agenda.

Against this backdrop, Lee Jae-myung’s overtures to China raise concern. His repeated use of the phrase xiexie, which means thank you in Chinese, has drawn attention. If, as Democratic Party lawmaker Wi Sung-lac suggested in a recent interview, Lee’s posture simply aims to avoid unnecessary hostility with neighboring powers, it may be understandable. But without clarity, such gestures risk being misinterpreted.

It is worth recalling that the first official statement by a Korean president on the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait came during the Moon Jae-in administration. In a summit with the United States in May 2021, Moon joined then-President Biden in publicly affirming that position. Lee’s dismissal of the Taiwan issue as irrelevant to Korea stands in stark contrast to that diplomatic precedent.

Kim Moon-soo also raises concern with campaign pledges such as nuclear sharing and the accumulation of nuclear weapons design technology. If such ideas are floated so casually, one has to wonder: Why would the United States continue to provide extended deterrence or maintain troops on the Korean Peninsula at all?

Returning to that baseball game, what was most memorable wasn’t just the center fielder’s catch. As soon as the ball was secure, the runner on third charged for home, sliding across the plate in a dramatic finish — even though he knew the game was already won. He answered hustle with hustle.

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander General Xavier Brunson speaks during a change-of-command ceremony for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and the USFK at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Dec. 20, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]

That spirit — of striving, of refusing to concede even when the odds are long — is what’s missing from this election.

Instead, there is drift. There is indifference. And outside, the security climate grows colder. As winter approaches, a harsh strategic season may be coming, too.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.