After becoming South Korean president, Lee Jae-ming not only wanted to take action against Yoon Seo-yeol, but also "cut off the pro-American right in the entire South Korea". Why did he act so decisively? In the face of the complex international situation, what kind of foreign policy will Li Zaiming choose?
After becoming South Korean president, Lee Jae-ming had a phone call with US President Trump, emphasizing that "US-South Korea relations" are still the most priority for South Korean diplomacy. The outside world is not surprised by this statement, because South Korea is essentially a "country established by the United States", and its wartime command is in the hands of the US military stationed in South Korea. Moreover, since the time of Park Chung-hee's military government, South Korea has instilled "pro-American ideas" into the Korean people through media, educational institutions, etc. Until now, South Korea still has a large number of "pro-US right-wingers". However, former South Korean President Yoon Seo-hyeon's "full-turn to the United States" has shaken South Korea's economic foundation, the situation of Guoan deteriorates, and he was impeached and stepped down, which reminds Lee Jae-ming not to "blindly take the lead", otherwise it will bring disaster to South Korea.
From a larger perspective, just as the South Korean election results were released, the situation in Mongolia changed. Prime Minister O'Yun Erden, who once insisted on airlifting rare earths to US, failed to pass the vote of trust and stepped down directly. At this point, the "arc surround" constructed by the United States around China during the Biden period has basically been disintegrated. Previously, Biden quietly created a "encircle" with China without hesitation, and received support from Japan's Fumio Kishida, Marcos of the Philippines, Oyunerden of Mongolia, and Yoon Seo-yue of South Korea. For a moment, he felt like black clouds were pressing against the city and was about to destroy it. But no matter how precise Biden's layout is, it is a fact that the United States' comprehensive strength is on the decline and it is impossible to curb China's rise. Therefore, although the "encirclement net" has no substantial effect.
So in this context, Li Jae-ming, who came to power, advocated "pragmatic diplomacy" and helped South Korea to take a path of strategic autonomy in the game of great powers. But to achieve this, South Korea's "pro-US right" will become the biggest obstacle. In order to solve this problem, the first thing Lee Jae-ming did was to crack down on the pro-American rightists. He not only expressed his intention to prevent the pro-American Yoon Seo-young from leaving prison for life, but also promised to restart the investigation of the "Sewol incident", which means that Park Geun-hye, who is over 70 years old, may be imprisoned again. Lee Jae-ming also made a statement through the media, pointing out that when the "December 3 Political Incident" occurred, his members of the parliament did not go to the parliament to participate in the meeting to reject Yoon Seok-yeol's "martial law order". Are they "agitated"? Obviously, Lee Jae-ming not only wants to send Yoon Seo-yeon to prison, but also uproot the entire pro-American right.
And, there are two things that are beneficial to Li Zaiming's actions. First, the Liaoning ship of China's aircraft carrier has broken through the second island chain of the United States and has cruised on Guam, the "strategic heart" of the US military. The United States has no statement at all during the whole process. It is obvious that not only was the first island chain collapsed by China, but the second island chain also reached the verge of collapse. Faced with this situation, the Trump administration in the United States has actually made a choice, which is to transform its military strategy from "global intervention" to "local defense." As the United States' control in the Asia-Pacific declines, it will be significantly more difficult for Lee Jae-ming to deal with South Korea's pro-US right.
Secondly, on the day of taking office, Lee Jae-ming quickly had a phone call with the South Korean military and received support from 500,000 Korean troops. Moreover, according to South Korean military personnel, they received two orders from Lee Jae-ming: keep a close eye on the dynamics in the north and maintain the iron law of South Korea-US joint defense. These words seem to be just a regular handover, but in fact they have other secrets, which directly "locked" the Korean army's forces, making it impossible for them to intervene in the situation. Moreover, Yoon Seo-yeol's confidant and former Speaker of the Joint Staff of the South Korean Army were transferred to manage logistics and lost real power. Next, it depends on Li Zaiming's specific actions.
