South Korea’s China, Russia deals derailed amid new administration’s policy shift toward US
- President Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration has taken a hardline stance toward North Korea, backed sanctions against Russia and moved to diversify trade away from China
- Once-promising government-level exchanges between South Korea and China to boost economic cooperation have been placed on the back burner
An apparent shift in the external economic policy of South Korea’s new government has put the brakes on a number of efforts in Russia and China that were initiated under the previous administration.
And while the shift also reflects developing situations such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the abrupt sea change that has occurred with the leadership change has come at the cost of greater government funds, time and effort.
Under the previous administration of Moon Jae-in, an ambitious plan was drawn up to build a power grid spanning South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and Mongolia. The idea was for countries in northeast Asia with high energy demand to be able to access wind and solar power, along with natural gas, from the resource-abundant easternmost parts of Siberia and Mongolia.
Possibilities were discussed at the 2017 Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, which was attended by the heads of state of Russia, South Korea, Japan and Mongolia. The plan had support from both the demand and supply sides, as it met their needs.
Government-level exchanges between South Korea and China had also taken place to explore possibilities of economic cooperation with China’s northeastern province of Liaoning that borders North Korea.
