South Korea, an Asian country that was once pinned with high hopes, now seems to be somewhat disoriented. Recently, a series of events have taken place in South Korea, and people have begun to worry: Where is South Korea headed, and how can the Yoon Suk-yeol government solve the current dilemma?
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Just last month, South Korea held its 22nd National Assembly election. As a result, Yoon's conservative ruling party suffered a serious setback, while the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, won a majority of seats in the National Assembly. And that's not even the worst of it, as senior aides to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration have resigned, which has severely shaken the ruling party's foundations. Experts all say that as the opposition grows, it will become increasingly difficult for the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to advance domestic policies for the remainder of his term.
And in this context, South Korea has suffered another big blow. Earlier this month, Italy announced its invitation to the 2023 G7 summit, but South Korea was not eligible. This is the second consecutive year that South Korea has not been able to participate in the G7 summit since Yoon Suk-yeol took office, which is really incredible.
This news caused a lot of controversy in South Korea. A spokesman for the Democratic Party of Korea, the largest opposition party, said directly that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration would not hesitate to sacrifice relations with China in order to strengthen alliances with Western countries, but now it seems that their "G7+ diplomacy" strategy has not achieved the desired effect. Many South Koreans have also begun to question Yoon's foreign policy, arguing that his approach has put South Korea in an embarrassing position internationally.
In fact, if you look closely, you can see that the pro-American and pro-Western stance of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is very obvious. Since he came to power, his China policy has been full of contradictions, and he has often competed with China, with the result that relations between China and South Korea have become very tense, and economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has also been greatly affected. Former South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has publicly criticized the Yoon Suk-yeol government, saying that in order to cater to the United States, they do not hesitate to sacrifice relations with China and put South Korea's interests on the back burner.
For example, on the issue of chip exports, the Yoon Suk-yeol government has catered to the U.S. export control policy against China, which has led to a significant reduction in the revenue of South Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix in the Chinese market. In order to survive, these businesses have had to look around for exemptions. Moreover, Yoon Suk-yeol has repeatedly made some inappropriate remarks on issues such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, blatantly violating the one-China principle, which has further deteriorated China-South Korea relations.
On the surface, Yoon Suk-yeol seems to be pandering to the United States' grand strategy of confronting China, but in reality, South Korea has become a vassal of the United States' strategy toward China and has lost its independence and autonomy in international affairs. The rejection of the G7 talks this time is a slap in the face of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's policy of encircling China.
In the long run, the continued deterioration of China-ROK relations will also bring huge losses to South Korea's own interests. After all, China is South Korea's largest trade surplus country, and the two countries have many complementary places in the industrial and supply chains, and the prospects for cooperation are very broad. But if South Korea insists on following the United States and exerting maximum pressure on China, it could end up ruining the relationship between the two countries, and the price would be too great.
At present, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's various practices around its China policy have seriously deviated from the general direction of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Causing trouble everywhere diplomatically, and losing elections one after another in domestic affairs, South Korea can be said to be suffering from internal and external troubles, and this situation is actually caused by itself.
Perhaps it is the wisest choice to return to rationality and restraint, abandon the absurd policy of confronting China, and re-examine the common interests of China and South Korea in regional peace and stability. After all, if it blindly squeezes the red line of its China policy, South Korea will certainly pay a heavy price in a head-on confrontation with China, an Asian power.
As for where South Korea will go in the future, whether the Yoon Suk-yeol administration will be able to get out of its misunderstanding, and how Sino-ROK relations will develop? These are still unknowns. But one thing is certain: only by strengthening mutual understanding and tolerance, and properly managing differences, can the friendly and cooperative relations between China and South Korea be stable and long-term, and the two peoples can ultimately benefit.