The return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House in 2025 has brought a renewed emphasis on “America First” foreign policy, marked by a strategic retrenchment that challenges the postwar liberal international order. This approach threatens U.S. alignment with democratic allies and reconfigures the geopolitical landscape into spheres of influence. For South Korea, these shifts come at a moment of domestic political transition, introducing significant uncertainties in alliance management and regional security. The decreasing reliability of the United States as a global leader may embolden adversarial powers and complicate South Korea’s ability to balance between the United States and China.

Policy Recommendations

• Korean policymakers should reaffirm commitments to traditional allies to restore trust in U.S. leadership and deter adversarial alignment. In doing so, the United States should maintain forward military presence and institutional cooperation mechanisms to ensure Indo-Pacific stability.
• Korean leadership should avoid transactional approaches to alliances that reduce strategic cohesion and amplify uncertainty.
• South Korea should maintain close communication with the United States and minimize any gaps in policy coordination. At the same time, the country should also diversify minilateral cooperation with like-minded countries to offset U.S. unpredictability.
• The new South Korean government should not dichotomously distinguish between values-based diplomacy and pragmatic diplomacy.