Analysis: Electoral politics in South Korea’s presidential election

It's a mistake to assess South Korea’s foreign policy trajectory based on campaign rhetoric and election-period positioning. A mistake many outside observers make.

Significance. Observers consistently make the mistake of assessing South Korea’s foreign policy trajectory based on campaign rhetoric and election-period positioning. The political system in South Korea is uniquely characterized by a dramatic shift in advisory personnel, strategic direction, and political allegiances immediately after the election outcome is announced. The pre- and post-election periods in South Korea are not part of a continuum but are better viewed as distinct phases governed by different interests.

The election period is a misleading indicator of future behavior. It’s a mistake to assume that there will be continuity between the pre- and post-election.

Monitoring speeches, interviews, and policy platforms in the lead-up to the vote provide little more than insight into campaign messaging. Interested parties that fail to differentiate between pre- and post-election dynamics risk misreading South Korea’s strategic direction and making faulty assumptions in planning. Understanding this dichotomy is essential to grasping the nature of presidential elections in South Korea.