► South Korea should work towards establishing a free and open Indo-Pacific region not because of American demands or expectations but because doing so is in its national interest.

► First, in terms of South Korea’s policy towards the United States, it must instill a sense of confidence regarding its role and commitment to the ROK-US alliance. 

► Second, South Korea must participate in discussions about the future of the Indo-Pacific region with the international community, including the United States. 

► Third, South Korea must expand the scope of its cooperation with the U.S. to go beyond the traditional military/security focus and into the economic as well as technological realm. 

The Incoming ROK Administration and the Upcoming ROK-US Summit

On May 10, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration took office amidst growing uncertainties both home and abroad. With the intensification of the US-China competition, Republic of Korea is being forced to “pick a side.” Moreover, South Korea faces growing expectations and demands from the international community regarding its role in global affairs. From South Korea’s perspective, its current geopolitical and geoeconomic standings have raised the costs of its decisions. North Korea’s nuclear threat has added to the level of threat that South Korea faces. Given the situation, South Korea is in need of a ‘friend’ who can share and address its concerns. This is the major reason why the upcoming ROK-US summit—to be held 11 days after President Yoon’s inauguration—has garnered many interests and expectations. 

The two allies have announced that the summit will take place in Seoul on May 21. Many expect the summit to showcase alliance solidarity, especially in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine War as well as the growing nuclear threat from North Korea. Throughout the United States, there are high hopes that the Yoon administration will meet U.S. policy expectations. Therefore, the upcoming summit will result in more than a simple acknowledgement that the two countries share national interests. Rather, South Korea will likely be asked to make greater efforts toward the ROK-US-Japan trilateral security cooperation, to participate in counter-China initiatives such as QUAD and IPEF, and to make greater contributions to the war in Ukraine. South Korea should strategically prepare for the summit with a clear policy stance.

The United States’ Indo-Pacific Strategy and South Korea 

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy was triggered by the perception that the free and open global order was being threatened by the likes of revisionist states such as China and Russia and the emergence of rogue states such as North Korea. The strategy was first announced by the Department of Defense in 2019 and, subsequently, by the White House in February 2022 as the “Indo-Pacific Strategy.” The Indo-Pacific Strategy focused on 10 specific course of action and stressed the importance of enhancing interoperability and cooperation with allies in the region. AUKUS, ASEAN, QUAD, ROK-US-Japan cooperation mechanism, and working groups involving the Pacific islands were often directly mentioned as part of this strategy. It also stressed the role of allies, including South Korea. By doing so, the United States outlined a whole-of-government effort, coupled with whole-of-alliance effort, to create a more connected, more prosperous, safer, and resilient Indo-Pacific region. 

Since 2009, South Korea and the U.S. have worked towards transforming the alliance into a more comprehensive, dynamic, and mutually beneficial one by agreeing to a vision dubbed the “Comprehensive Strategic Alliance.” This vision aims to evolve the alliance from a Korean Peninsula-oriented military alliance into a relationship that is capable of promoting the two countries’ national interests in area beyond traditional security through close coordination and consultation. During the 2021 ROK-US summit meeting, South Korea shared its understanding of the U.S. Indo-Pacific vision and officialized bilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. By doing so, the two allies were able to expand the alliance’s scope, role, and agenda from regional to global. 

South Korea’s Role 

South Korea should work towards establishing a free and open Indo-Pacific region not because of American demands or expectations but because doing so is in its national interest. Basic values such as freedom of navigation, respect for international law, human rights, and democratic values are essential to South Korea’s survival and prosperity. As such, South Korea must responsibly play its role, in collaboration with regional actors including the United States, to bring peace, security, safety, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. The following lists a number of military/security-related efforts that South Korea can undertake in order to expand South Korea’s role both in bilateral and multilateral frameworks:

Integrated deterrence: Integrated deterrence was first mentioned by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during the 2021 change of command ceremony for the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. A recently released DoD fact sheet—which mentioned the submission of a classified National Defense Strategy (NDS) to Congress—identified integrated deterrence as a central concept to NDS. This concept is known to comprehensively integrate nuclear/conventional deterrence as well as the Army/Navy/Air Force, space, cyber, military/non-military capabilities. Since South Korea is geographically located at the most sensitive and unpredictable part of the Indo-Pacific, integrated deterrence is a desperately needed military measure. Therefore, South Korea must take the lead in coming up with threat/risk scenarios—incorporating security uncertainties and complexities inherent to the peninsula—and use them to formulate countermeasures.

Integrated missions: In order to successfully carry out missions in a continually evolving threat landscape requires establishing comprehensive defense posture. It is critical for countries like South Korea to engage in missions to deal with the likes of North Korea’s nuclear threat, cyber threats, gray zone tactics in the West Sea, terrorism and extremism on and around various sea lanes. Moreover, international cooperation is required to deal with issues of the environment, natural disasters, biological threats, illegal weapons and narcotics trade. South Korea could take the lead in non-military fields such as leading humanitarian missions and developing regional resiliency. South Korea can open up multinational military exercises in the West and South Seas to relevant countries like China and, in the process, reduce military tensions in the most unstable part of the region.
 

Integrated alliance: The security architecture in the Indo-Pacific region is evolving from a bilateral alliance system—led by the United States—to a network of partnerships such as QUAD or AUKUS. Involvements of ASEAN as well as multilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the Pacific islands strategic group are also being strengthened. For the United States’ approach to Asia, the mediation of an Asia country will be critical. In that sense, South Korea’s role is becoming increasingly important. South Korea has already announced that it will look to identify areas of mutual interests between its New Southern Policy and the Indo-Pacific Strategy, which will allow South Korea to play a more active role in terms of agenda-setting in the Indo-Pacific region and also connecting with other regions.
 

Integrated innovation: In order to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific region, there has to be a common approach to dealing with critical technologies, the internet, and cyber space. And openness, interoperability, reliability, responsibility, technology norms and standards must all be met. Broadly speaking, South Korea must not only look to deal with immediate threats but work with the international community to shape the future security environment. South Korea, along with neighboring countries in the region, must strive for innovation both in terms of technology and governing institutions. Given South Korea’s advanced technological and human resources, it can play a crucial role in establishing regional infrastructure and dealing with critical technologies and supply chains.

Policy Considerations

First, in terms of South Korea’s policy towards the United States, it must instill a sense of confidence regarding its role and commitment to the ROK-US alliance. Actively cooperating with the Biden administration’s diplomacy that focuses on democratic values coincides with South Korea’s own constitutional spirit. Obviously, how South Korea cooperates with the United States will vary depending on situations but it is critical that U.S. decision-makers have unswerving confidence in South Korea’s positioning and commitment. 

Second, South Korea must participate in discussions about the future of the Indo-Pacific region with the international community, including the United States. It must not adhere to an anachronistic vision of the region especially amidst the rapidly changing international security environment. It must understand that the Indo-Pacific Strategy is not a tool to contain China, but rather a blueprint that paves the way to achieve future-oriented values and goals. South Korea must, therefore, begin to engage in comprehensive discussions to usher in peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific as well as on the Korean Peninsula.

Third, South Korea must expand the scope of its cooperation with the U.S. to go beyond the traditional military/security focus and into the economic as well as technological realm. Also, it must become an active participant in the global agenda. It must participate in initiatives such as RCEP and IPEF—regardless of who initiated the project—as foundations for free and open economic cooperation. Additionally, it must engage in bilateral cooperation involving critical technologies and global supply chains, and channel its capabilities toward issues such as climate change and the pandemic so that it can assume a greater role in global affairs.