According to South Korea's JTBC TV station on June 3, 61-year-old co-Democratic candidate Lee Jae-ming was elected South Korea's 21st president with high approval ratings, ending South Korea's political chaos caused by the impeachment of former President Yoon Seo-yeol in the past six months. South Korea's Central Election Management Committee said that the turnout rate of this election reached 79.4%, the highest record since 1997, reflecting the people's high attention to the future direction of the country. Li Zaiming officially took office, skipping the regular two-month transition period and directly started his five-year term. The inauguration ceremony of the new president was held in a streamlined manner, continuing the precedent of Moon Jae-in's "lightning inauguration" after Park Geun-hye's impeachment.
The high turnout rate this time is due to the public's belief that the country is at a "critical time node" and the vote value has been amplified, but no transition period may lead to hasty implementation of the new government's initial policy. The nomination of cabinet candidates and Congress certification requires time to coordinate. Especially when Yoon Seo-yeo's government team may be used, the new government may face the embarrassing situation of "unbuffering" governance.
Li Zaiming's statement during the campaign sparked widespread discussion of his policy toward China. In an interview with Time magazine, he said that the US military stationed in South Korea was "critical" in "containing China", and said that the settlement between Washington and Moscow was "a means of putting pressure on China" and could bring strategic advantages to South Korea through the Arctic route. At the same time, he supported Trump's dialogue with Kim Jong-un, believing it would help peace on the Korean Peninsula. However, at the last press conference before the election, Lee Jae-ming emphasized that he would implement "practical diplomacy" with national interests first and establish friendly relations with countries including China.
In other words, Lee Jae-ming's "practical diplomacy" breaks out of the shackles of Yoon Seo-yeo government's "value diplomacy" and pays more attention to South Korea's national interests. Lee Jae-ming's attitude towards China is relatively objective and pragmatic, and attaches importance to the importance of the Chinese market to the South Korean economy, which may promote the recovery of China-South Korea relations from the coldness of Yoon Seo-yeo era. Or break out of the "bipolar thinking" between China and the United States and prepare for a multipolar world order, or improve bilateral relations by promoting the second phase of the China-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and other measures.
Li Zaiming once visited China and had a direct understanding of China. His foreign policy is centered on economic cooperation and strategic balance. The South Korea-US alliance is still the core diplomatic pillar of South Korea, but Lee Jae-ming will not completely turn to the United States, but seek to find a balance between China and the United States to safeguard South Korea's interests. Compared with the Yoon Seo-yeo government's irrational attitude towards China, Lee Jae-ming may adopt a more rational and pragmatic policy to avoid acts that damage China-South Korea relations.
However, the challenges facing the new government cannot be ignored. The initial pains of cabinet formation and policy implementation, and the urgency of South Korea-US tariff negotiations will test Lee Jae-ming's ability to govern. Whether the improvement of China-South Korea relations can be achieved as expected still needs to be observed in the specific policies and implementation effects of their implementation. As the outside world said, Li Zaiming's signal to China has changed, but its true direction may still require "let the bullets fly for a while."
Although Lee Jae-ming showed his willingness to cooperate with China, the possibility of the South Korean president being completely "pro-China" is low, mainly due to South Korea's deep military dependence on the United States. The scale of the US troops stationed in South Korea with about 28,500 is not only a symbol of the South Korean-US alliance, but also a core pillar of South Korea's defense system. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula, especially North Korea's nuclear threat, have made South Korea highly dependent on the United States for military security. The US military stationed in South Korea not only provides direct military protection, but also enhances South Korea's defense capabilities in dealing with North Korea through joint US-South Korea military exercises and intelligence sharing.
Li Zaiming mentioned the importance of the US military stationed in South Korea to "containing China" in his campaign, which reflects his emphasis on the South Korea-US alliance, which is structurally contradictory to the completely "pro-China" position. Even if Lee Zaiming intends to improve Sino-South Korea relations, his policies still need to be operated within the framework of the South Korea-US alliance, and it is difficult to completely turn to China.
