South Korea’s newly elected President Lee Jae Myung will hold his first meeting with President Donald Trump on August 25 at the White House. Over the past eight months, President Trump has attempted to reframe the global economic and security order to an “America First” system with himself at the center through transactionalism, the unilateral…
August 21, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a radical approach in his efforts to transform the global economic and security order to align with the rhetoric of his first administration. In the meantime, South Korea has been embroiled in domestic political paralysis and a difficult power transition to progressive leadership in the aftermath of Yoon Suk…
August 14, 2025
South Korea’s political vacuum has been filled by a politician with a mandate to lead but who faces innumerable simultaneous and overlapping domestic and international challenges. Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung won South Korea’s snap election on June 3, 2025, in a race that was never seriously in doubt. Buoyed by a sizable majority in…
June 4, 2025
On May 29, 2025, in what will likely be his last public speech as a government official, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul reviewed the accomplishments of and challenges faced by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. Cho noted the challenges of navigating deepening international conflict and geopolitical rivalry. In addition, as a cabinet member in…