President Yoon Seok-yeol Accelerates ‘Value Diplomacy’ at G7 Summit

President Yoon Seok-yeol is speeding up ‘value diplomacy’ with the opportunity to attend the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. During the Korea-US-Japan summit and various bilateral meetings, President Yoon put the values ​​of liberal democracy at the forefront and closely adhered to the United States. In this process, concerns are raised that he may be escaping from the flow of international politics, which is changing from decoupling (severance of relations) to derisking (risk mitigation) as he shows more distance from China. The President’s Office highlighted the ‘new level of cooperation between the three countries’ that was agreed upon at the Korea-US-Japan summit on the 21st. In an interview on the 22nd (YTN), Deputy Director Kim Tae-hyo of the National Security Office said, “It will be about qualitatively strengthening security cooperation between the three countries, and let’s materialize the cooperation agenda that has been neglected in the social and cultural fields such as economic supply chain and people-to-people exchanges. )” he said. At the suggestion of President Joe Biden, the three leaders plan to meet again in Washington, USA, to refine specific measures to strengthen cooperation. However, in the process, relations with China have been distancing themselves. Although President Yoon did not directly refer to China during the G7 period, he indirectly targeted China, citing opposition to attempts to change the status quo by force and strengthening the Indo-Pacific strategy. It is a departure from the strategic ambiguity between the US and China that the Korean government has been maintaining. This is somewhat different from the atmosphere in which major EU countries such as France and Germany have recently changed their public strategy from decoupling to derisking. “The biggest cost that can appear after setting the direction for South Korea-US-Japan cooperation is the issue of setting up relations with China,” said Professor Kim Jeong of the University of North Korean Studies (comparative politics). Relevant competencies have been put to the test,” he said. Although it has decreased recently, it is still highly dependent on trade, and it is necessary to have a plan for relations with China that require cooperation in the North Korean nuclear issue. However, the presidential office said that there is close communication with China and that there is no problem with public relations. In an interview, Deputy General Manager Kim Tae-hyo said, “We are in the process of sending and receiving people to each other (with China) and raising pending issues.” I think there will be an atmosphere to talk about the summit,” he said. South Korea and China held a Korea-China director-general-level meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on the same day. On the one hand, there are criticisms that President Yoon is putting aside the demands that must be fulfilled in Japan-Korea relations because he is focused on cooperation between Korea, the US and Japan. President Yoon still did not mention the issue of past history or the treatment of contaminated water in Fukushima at the Korea-Japan summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the 21st. Professor Kim Joon-hyung of Handong Global University (Department of International Languages ​​and Literature) said, “Korea, the US, and Japan (collaborative cooperation) are solidifying as identities.” It was a meeting,” he pointed out. Meanwhile, President Yoon held a summit meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel at the Presidential Office in Yongsan on the afternoon of the same day, and held a joint press conference saying, “Korea and Europe The Union is an important cooperative partner that shares universal values ​​of freedom, human rights, and the rule of law, and over the past 60 years has developed cooperation in all fields, including politics, economy, and the global agenda. It was announced to strengthen partnerships, establish ministerial-level strategic dialogue, cooperate on regional and international issues, cooperate in establishing supply chains such as economic security, and expand the basis for science and technology exchanges. Reporter Mina Kim mina@hani.co.kr