‘Year of reckoning’: Where South Korea is headed as it readies for defining 2023

Efforts to live up to being global player will be hallmark of Yoon’s presidency

The sun sets behind the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, as a year marked by sharp political confrontations draws to a close. (The Korea Herald)

The year 2022, marked by unprecedented geopolitical and economic tensions, has been especially brutal for South Korea as it sought greater global clout amid deglobalization prompted by the escalating US-China rivalry. The search for a seat in a new world order is emboldening Korea to take bolder steps, beginning with its longtime ally, the US.

The Indo-Pacific strategy revealed Wednesday is the epitome of Seoul’s commitment to helping reshape the world alongside Washington, its biggest ally with whom it marks 70 years of security ties in 2023. South Korea was careful so as to leave room for engagement with those potentially sidelined from the new coalition -- a regrouping of democracies to put checks on authoritarian regimes like China, according to critics.

The outreach is expected to reel in countries from South and Southeast Asia to as far as Central and South America. The annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Group of 20 summits -- to be held late next year -- are the litmus tests to see how much support is earned from the 10-member economic block and the greater coalition that includes the European Union.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, to be hosted by the US in November 2023, will be the highlight of how far Korea will have come on its foreign initiative.

Japan -- the bickering neighbor Korea nevertheless needs on its side more than ever -- will likely test Seoul’s patience and resolve to shoulder a bigger global role as Tokyo convenes next year’s Group of 7 summit in May. Japan in 2020 pushed back on a proposal by the US to add Korea into the most exclusive global gathering of rule setters. United on the democratic cause but divided over ways to realize it, Seoul and Tokyo have a long road ahead as they search for a middle ground on their longtime historical disputes that have frayed ties.

Meanwhile, mounting domestic challenges are just as serious, as Korea struggles to contain economic disruptions from not only the war in Ukraine but the still raging COVID-19 crisis. A surge in China’s infections is putting on edge Korean authorities, who now have eyes set on a full return to pre-pandemic days amid waning support for COVID restrictions. Three years of the mask mandate is starting to eat away at momentum the government needs to deliver on its foreign as well as domestic agendas.

Next year is a political watershed moment for President Yoon Suk-yeol, whose ruling party will start gearing up for elections that will take place early in 2024. They will largely determine whether the conservative leader, who has been outnumbered by an opposition-controlled National Assembly, will have the mandate to lead and leave legacies through his signature foreign policy and domestic priorities, including labor and welfare reforms, to name a few.

Late next year, Yoon has a chance to take advantage of a boost to his government and rally Koreans, if the country wins the bid to host the Expo 2030 in Busan.

By Choi Si-young(siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)