Is South Korea’s Indo‑Pacific Strategy a diplomatic lame duck?

After President Yoon’s election defeat, a change in foreign policy is unlikely, but momentum will vanish

When South Korea’s Yoon Suk-yeol administration released its Indo-Pacific Strategy in late 2022, many Australian commentators hoped the time had finally come for the Australia–South Korea bilateral relationship to prosper. After Yoon’s comprehensive trouncing in the recent legislative elections, it may be time to temper those hopes.

Foreign policy rarely plays a role in South Korea’s legislative elections. They are routinely decided upon political, economic and social issues closer to home. Upsets or landslides have resulted from embarrassing political faux pas, cases of spying on rival political parties, poor economic performance, and the mishandling of the economy and its resultant social impact. With the release of the Indo-Pacific strategy, foreign policy played a role for the first time in years. Between fumbled diplomatic appointments, repeated diplomatic gaffes, and poor foreign policy choices, presidential performance on the international stage contributed substantially to the …