How Lee Jae-myung wants to reshape foreign policy

Recasting himself as a foreign policy pragmatist grounded in national interest, South Korea’s presidential front-runner Lee Jae-myung is signaling a reset of the strategic compass for the country’s foreign and North Korea policy.

On the Korean Peninsula, Lee prioritizes reducing military tensions and reviving long-stalled dialogue with North Korea — a step he sees as essential to ensuring that Seoul is not sidelined in what he views as an inevitable US bid to thaw relations with the Kim Jong-un regime as part of its strategy to counter China.

Zooming out, Lee has publicly advocated recharting South Korea’s foreign policy away from former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s values-based diplomacy — instead calling for a recalibration of ties with China and Russia, underscoring their deep economic interdependence and geographical proximity.

While affirming the Korea–US alliance as a strategic cornerstone and recognizing the significance of trilateral security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo, Lee has consistently rejected being boxed into binary choices that would come at the expense of ties with Beijing and Moscow.

“The Korea–US alliance is important. We must preserve it and further develop it. And we must engage in security cooperation with the US and Japan. But that doesn’t mean we should turn other countries into enemies, does it?” Lee said during an outdoor campaign stop Tuesday in Daegu, a conservative stronghold.

“At the same time, we should also maintain amicable relations with China and Russia — trade with them, and cooperate with them. Isn’t that what we ought to be doing?”

Lee’s campaign has yet to release a detailed foreign and North Korea policy road map, apart from Monday's 10 major policy initiatives. However, his public statements and remarks since launching his bid have offered a window into the contours of how he plans to redraw the lines if elected in the early presidential election on June 3.

In doing so, Lee has begun to reshape his narrative — one long defined by criticism of his past skepticism toward the stationing of US Forces Korea and trilateral security cooperation with the US and Japan, and by opponents who have cast him as “pro-China” or “pro–North Korea.”

However, Lee still draws a clear line: South Korea, he argues, must not be unconditionally tethered to the alliance or rigidly confined by the Korea–US–Japan trilateral bloc.

“Of course, the Korea–US alliance is indeed the foundation of the Republic of Korea’s foreign policy,” Lee said during a televised debate for the party primary on April 25. “And because bloc alignments also carry weight, trilateral cooperation among Korea, the US and Japan is also important. But we cannot be unilaterally bound to those alone.”

Instead, Lee has argued that Seoul cannot afford to turn its back on either Beijing or Moscow in pursuit of its national interest, given their geographical proximity and deep economic entanglement.

“Even if we wanted to abandon ties with China and Russia, we couldn’t. We’re intertwined with them — what choice do we have?” Lee said in an interview released on the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation’s YouTube channel in mid-April. “Our economies are deeply intertwined with them and geography makes separation impossible. It’s fate — our destiny.”

Lee emphasized the significance of navigating relations with China and Russia, especially at a time when a deteriorating global trade environment, hit by tariff wars, is weighing heavily on export-reliant South Korea.

Lee notably mentioned the Northern Policy — also known as Nordpolitik — of conservative former President Roh Tae-woo, stands out as one of the most consequential legacies of conservative governments in his meeting with South Korea's five major business lobbies on May 8.

Lee explained that the Northern Policy laid the groundwork for diplomatic normalization with China and the Soviet Union, the precursor to modern-day Russia, and opened the door to expanded trade and economic ties with both communist powers at that time.

“Does it really matter if our customers are from communist countries? By establishing diplomatic ties with Russia and China, we opened two enormous markets — and a lot of our domestic companies saw significant growth as a result. I believe we must continue down that path,” Lee said during the meeting.

"I am convinced that the government’s critical task going forward is to expand our economic territory through diplomacy and trade policy."

Lee also defended his “xie xie” comment from March 2023, which had sparked criticism among those who saw it as "pro-China." At the time, Lee suggested that the then Yoon Suk Yeol administration could avoid provoking China by acting irrespective of the Taiwan issue. Speaking in figurative language, he said South Korea should simply say "xie xie" — thank you in Mandarin — to both China and Taiwan.

“I said we should just get along with other countries — say ‘xie xie’ to China, ‘xie xie’ to Taiwan. Whether China and Taiwan fight or not, what does that have to do with us? Did I say anything wrong?” Lee told supporters during Tuesday's outdoor campaign in Daegu.

On Lee's Japan policy, the core is a two-pronged strategy: seek cooperation on issues of economy and trade as well as security — while maintaining a principled stance on historical and territorial disputes.

Lee has made clear that strategic cooperation with Tokyo, particularly in the fields of economy and security, is a necessity — especially with the heightened geopolitical uncertainties under the second Trump administration.

Lee notably offered an affirmative response when SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won — who also chairs the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry — suggested during a May 8 meeting that South Korea should forge stronger economic solidarity with Japan.

Lee concurred on the need to cooperate with Japan against Trump’s chaotic tariff wars.

“These difficulties are being faced across many countries, which means we share similar positions and interests,” Lee said. “In that sense, I fully agree with the need for coordinated responses with neighboring countries like Japan. We must begin preparing in advance.”

However, Lee has clarified that he remains sharply critical of Japan’s stance on historical disputes stemming from its colonial rule from 1910 to 1945, its territorial claims over South Korea’s Dokdo islets, and the release of contaminated water from Fukushima.

“Though I’ve been highly critical of Japan’s conduct, I believe that, from a macro perspective, cooperation is necessary,” Lee said in the interview on the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation’s YouTube channel.

“We should pursue a dual-track approach. Let’s continue to confront issues like history and the Dokdo dispute, but there’s no reason to carry that tension into economic matters or the social and cultural domains."

Still, Lee stressed the imperative to resolve long-standing issues as a key prerequisite to elevating bilateral ties to a higher level in a May 9 congratulatory message to a forum on Seoul–Tokyo relations.

“Complex challenges still remain between our two countries — including historical disputes and the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima,” Lee said in the speech. “In particular, historical issues must be addressed if we are to build a truly future-oriented relationship.”

On North Korea policy, Lee views that the US has little choice but to improve relations with North Korea as its strategic rivalry with China intensifies — a shift he believes South Korea should capitalize on by resurrecting long-stalled inter-Korean dialogue.

“To contain China, the US will have to improve its relationship with North Korea,” Lee said in the interview uploaded to the YouTube channel of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation. “In fact, Washington has no other option — it will inevitably move in that direction.”

Lee’s position is that South Korea must not be sidelined in the event of a resumption of diplomacy between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

"If the US improves its relationship with North Korea while we remain on the sidelines as a third party, it could be seriously problematic for us," Lee said in the interview. "Instead, we can work with the US to create a win-win situation on this issue. That could also open the door to improving inter-Korean relations."

Lee noted that this evolving dynamic presents opportunities for Seoul to turn the tide in inter-Korean relations — especially at a time when ties between the two Koreas have reached their lowest point in years.

"I believe we can make the most of this opportunity and juncture. Communication, cooperation, and trust-building between the two Koreas are truly crucial,” Lee said during the party primary debate on April 23.

"While it is not yet time to speak of grand ideas like unification, we must begin with peaceful coexistence. We should not allow hostility to deepen any further. Of course, strentngning national security with strong defense capabilities is fundamental.”

Lee has repeatedly pointed out that the current breakdown of inter-Korean relations has been driven by the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s hardline North Korea policy.

“There may be various reasons, but inter-Korean relations have seriously deteriorated — and the Yoon Suk Yeol administration’s reckless tit-for-tat hardline policy has had a significant impact on that,” Lee said during the April 23 debate.

Against the backdrop, Lee underscored that “easing military tensions and restoring trust between the two Koreas is an urgent task” on his Facebook post on May 2.

"We will establish an inter-Korean military joint committee and restore communication channels to manage military clashes and other inter-Korean risks in a stable manner.”

In addition to restoring severed inter-Korean hotlines, Lee further pledged to reinstate the now-defunct Inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement, signed on September 19, 2018, and to halt hostile acts by both sides — including the launching of balloons and loudspeaker broadcasts along the inter-Korean border.

“Now is the moment to ease military tensions and to open a pathway to dialogue — a necessity for both South and North Korea," Lee said on the day when North Korea launched short-range ballistic missiles on May 8.