South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has truly realized what the consequences of only attaching importance to relations with the United States and Japan will be. Since he came to power, he has not hesitated to sacrifice his relations with China in order to get closer to the United States, but in the end, he has not even been able to get to the table. According to recent reports, South Korea was not included in the list of participating countries. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration has been seeking to join the G7, but South Korea is not on the list of invited countries for this year's G7 summit in Italy. All of a sudden, South Korea was hit hard, and the country, which had been confident that it would become a "G8", now wanted to cry without tears. Even in the eyes of the South Korean media, South Korea's economy and technological innovation capabilities are larger than those of Italy, a member of the G7, and it should become a G8 member. In the final analysis, no matter how much South Korea pleases him, he is still an outsider, and now reality also shows that the circle that cannot be integrated into it should not be squeezed hard, otherwise it will only be a loss to his wife and a soldier, which is very embarrassing. It is worth mentioning that who the G7 invites, or who not invites, is not for Italy to decide, and the real question is not for Italy, but for the United States.
The list is made by the United States, and more specifically, by US National Security Advisor Sullivan, and the expanded list of the G7 summits of the Biden administration over the past three years or so has actually been provided by Sullivan. As for Italy, it is just a matter of sending invitations to the countries concerned as the host. From this point of view, it can be seen that in the eyes of the Americans, South Korea is at best a "pawn" and is not qualified to become the G8. Perhaps for South Korea, the G7 is very remarkable, if it can join the G7 and become the G8, South Korea can suddenly become one of the world's great powers, become a global hub country, and even walk with the wind, but for other countries, the G7 is nothing at all.
As far as the mainland is concerned, the G7 has been inviting China to join since 1999. As late as 2008, the Obama administration proposed to build a G2 with China. In this regard, China has no waves. If China joins the G7, will it have status and dignity? If China does not join, it will also have status and dignity. If a country pins its status and dignity on the G8 in other places, such as South Korea, it will inevitably lose its status and dignity.
As now, Yoon Suk-yeol thought that he would be rewarded handsomely by following the United States and the West, and even "bowed" to Japan for this, but reality gave him a resounding slap in the face. The G8 dream was shattered, and South Korea ended up getting nothing, which greatly weakened South Korea's diplomatic environment. After the news came out, the South Korean opposition party aimed its "gun" at the Yoon Suk-yeol government, criticizing that the Yoon Suk-yeol government sacrificed relations with China after coming to power. What is the result of pursuing a unilateral diplomatic path centered on the United States and Japan? I don't know if it can wake up the Yoon Suk-yeol government after being slapped by reality this time, and make the Yoon Suk-yeol government realize that relying on external forces cannot actually solve its own predicament, and only by being independent and taking its own path can it be.