The 61-year-old Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-Myung Jong-eun has been elected president of the 21st South Korean presidential election, JTBC television reported Wednesday. Lee Jae-myung took office on Thursday for a five-year term, ending a chaotic six-month absence of a formal president.
Lee Jae-myung, Source: Visual China
Several South Korean experts told the global times on the 3rd that although the us-south Korea Alliance is still the foundation of South Korean diplomacy, Lee Jae-myung’s diplomatic philosophy is close to “Pragmatic diplomacy”, he may re-examine the economic relationship with China, pay attention to the Chinese market, with a view to promoting South Korea’s economic development. In this context, sino-rok relations are expected to come out of the cold era of Yin Xiyue, get a certain recovery and improvement.
The new government is faced with the challenge of”No buffer”
Although the election period lasted only 20 days, but in the South Korean election, whether it is early voting or formal voting, public participation is high. South Korea’s central election management commission said earlier that more than 15m voters across the country had taken part in the presidential election”In advance voting”, with a turnout of 34.74 per cent, it is the second-highest since the system was introduced in 2014. The final turnout in the 21st South Korean presidential election was 79.4 percent, the highest since 1997, the Central Election Management Commission reported on the evening of June 3.
Dong Xiangrong, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences asia-pacific and global strategic research institute, told the Global Times that the South Korean election was held at a time when people believe “The country is at a critical juncture.”, voters will see their votes as more valuable and decisive. In this case, there will be a high turnout.
According to a report by South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper, the winner of the South Korean election will skip the usual two-month presidential transition period because it was triggered by the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-hye, on the 4th officially inaugurated the President of South Korea. South Korea’s Central Election Management Commission will hold a plenary meeting”Not exceeding 10 minutes” between 7 am and 9 am on the same day to formally announce the election results, so the new president’s term will begin that morning. The inauguration of the new president is expected to take place in a streamlined National Diet Building in Seoul around noon on the 4th. Such an arrangement is not unprecedented in South Korea. Park Geun-hye had gone through a similar process when he was impeached and Moon came to power, taking office without a transition period.
Zhan debin, director of the shanghai-based Center for Korean Peninsula Studies, told the Global Times that the by-election Beijing University of International Business and Economics were short, the policies of the candidates were immature and hasty, and there was no process to demonstrate the social dimension, and without a transition period, there is not enough time to demonstrate the viability of the platform. Taking office soon will also leave the new government no time to Mull cabinet choices and so on, which may lead to hasty early implementation of policy. In particular, with the exception of Lee Jae-Myung, the other key players in the government are likely to be members of Ms Yin’s entourage, creating an awkward coexistence. In addition, the cabinet members need congressional certification, the nomination process to fully demonstrate the background of candidates, etc. , all need time, early implementation of the policy is inevitable problems.
Lee Jae-Myung’s “Three tasks”
“Internal and external troubles”, mentioned by both Dong and Zhan when asked about what Lee Jae-Myung might face when he takes office.
Dong Xiangrong believes that the new government will face a complex and grim domestic and international situation. The domestic situation is not optimistic. With domestic politics thrown into turmoil by Yoon for six months, the new government needs to pick up the pieces as soon as possible before it Resurrecting the Champ off. On the economic side, South Korea’s economic growth has been sluggish due to political turmoil, economic unrest and changes in the international environment. The bank of Korea slashed its growth forecast for this year to 0.8 per cent, the lowest level in recent years, and a return to growth is a priority. Tariff negotiations with the US are also imminent and the new government needs to tackle Donald Trump’s “Tariff stick” immediately.
Voters are most concerned about the economic downturn and rising cost of living in South Korea, partly because the export-dependent economy has been hit hard by the U.S.-SPONSORED trade war, CNN reported Tuesday. So during the election campaign, both leading candidates, Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo, focused on the economy, promising to stabilise prices and improve housing, education and jobs. South Korea’s new president also has many other issues to address, including an aging society, a low birthrate, regional tensions and relations with China.
According to Zhan, Lee Jae-Myung’s three main tasks will be: first, to give priority to the recovery of the economy and people’s livelihood, because major economic indicators have fallen and prices and the exchange rate have risen during Yin’s several years in power. Lee Jae-myung wants to push for supplementary budgets and stimulate growth through fiscal expansionary policies, such as the issuance of consumer vouchers. Second, Lee Jae-myung could speed up investigations into some people, including through legislation, to put an end to the problem and introduce new reforms, including changes to the constitution. Third, the us-south Korea tariff issue, the Donald Trump administration had asked for a deal by July 8, for the new government, time is running out, pushing for a tariff agreement between the two countries is an urgent task.
Lee Jae-Myung’s “Pragmatic diplomacy”– beyond the “Bipolar thinking” between China and the United States
Notably, in his final press conference before the election, in response to questions about relations with China, Lee Jae-myung said he would pursue a pragmatic foreign policy, whether it was China, or Japan, Russia, the United States, need to establish friendly relations. He also pointed out that the korea-us Alliance is the foundation of South Korean diplomacy and will continue to deepen.
What is”Pragmatic foreign policy” as Li Zeming puts it? What Impact Will Lee Jae-Myung’s rise have on china-south Korea, us-south Korea relations?
Dong Xiangrong believed that Lee Jae-myung had visited China and had a direct perception and preliminary understanding of the country, and that his attitude towards China was objective and pragmatic. His pragmatism is focused on the national interest, obeying his own considerations of South Korea’s national interest and not doing anything unhelpful, unlike the previous administration’s obsession with so-called”Value diplomacy”. Lee Jae-myung is likely to re-examine his economic relationship with China and focus on the Chinese market in an effort to boost the South Korean economy.
She also said that South Korea is an ally of the United States and the korea-us Alliance is the foundation of South Korea’s diplomacy. China-rok interaction should be based on the strategic partnership of cooperation, from a pragmatic point of view, to determine under what circumstances and how to cooperate. The development of korea-us relations can not harm China’s interests. The previous South Korean government’s attitude toward China was so irrational that it even created rumors to discredit China. This kind of approach to sino-south Korean relations is extremely undesirable and harmful to South Korea’s international image and national interests. The new government may take a more rational attitude to restore and improve sino-rok relations.
Wang Xiaoling, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences asia-pacific and global strategic research institute, told the Global Times that the current international environment is leading South Korea to a path of pragmatism, unlike the Yoon administration’s insistence on “Values diplomacy”, progressives such as Lee Jae-Myung have always wanted to deal with many issues in the interests of the South Korean nation, sticking to its national stance and deliberating on every issue. At the same time, Lee Jae-myung argues, South Korea needs to think beyond the US and China and prepare for the multipolar future of the world order, uniting other middle powers to form a pole of global power. In recent years, South Korean society as a whole has decided that relations between South Korea and China are too cold, which is not in the interests of both countries, so Lee Jae-Myung may do something “Visible” to the South Korean public when he takes office, for example, the promotion of china-south Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA-RPhasehIIe II negotiations.
Zhan debin believes that the past Yin Xiyue ruling period, china-south Korea relations continued to deteriorate, although the later to warm up, but did not reach the previous level. Lee Jae-myung also stressed the importance of china-south Korea relations during his campaign, which is expected to return to a better state, though he did not mention a unique policy.