Korea should lead by example
Posted : 2023-06-15 16:30
Updated : 2023-06-15 16:30
By Yun Byung-se
Last week, the Yoon Suk Yeol government released its first-ever National Security Strategy (NSS) with the subheading "Global Pivotal State (GPS) for Freedom, Peace and Prosperity." The NSS is expected to serve as a comprehensive guide for foreign, defense and unification policy direction throughout his government. It will put more flesh on the GPS vision, one of the six key pillars of national agendas. The NSS is designed to work in tandem with Yoon's Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) which was released late last year.
Both the NSS and the IPS dovetail well with the respective strategies of the U.S., Japan, EU, NATO and Australia. It marks a clear turnaround from the previous government in terms of vision, objectives and strategies.
Since the inception of GPS, a frequently asked question from our friends abroad, including the U.S., was, "GPS is a welcome vision, but where's the beef?" Now, one year into the presidency, the Yoon government has accumulated significant ammunition to offer its response, not just philosophically but through concrete policy actions. This came in the form of the ROK assistance to Ukraine and Pacific Islands countries, hosting and co-hosting the democracy summit, election as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, as well as participation in trilateral, plurilateral, regional and global initiatives on peace and security, development, climate change, health security, economic security and cybersecurity, to name a few.
It is no coincidence that President Yoon's recent G7 Summit participation in Hiroshima triggered a lively and serious debate at home on the need for Korea to join the club as a G8 ― not as an on-and-off guest to the G7.
Foreign Minister Park Jin is an eloquent spokesperson for the rationale. He submits that the Yoon government's multilateral diplomacy over the last year has elevated Korea's status to the G7 level. Many Korean experts and the Federation of Korean Industries support and further elaborate on this argument, offering statistics such as per capita GDP among countries with populations over 50 million, military capability and export volume which rank Korea between sixth and eighth, as well as its top-tier soft power.
It is also encouraging to see growing foreign opinions in favor of this elevated status and role for Korea as well.
Recently, former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Kathleen Stephens provided a cogent argument stating, "Over the last years, we've seen the Republic of Korea joining the top table of a whole variety of international institutions and not just its membership but its leadership in the G20 was very important, especially in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. It is very important for South Korea to continue to expand its leadership role in a variety of like-minded international institutions."
As she rightly noted, leadership is no less important than membership. Korea joined the inaugural G20 summit in 2008, which was formally designated in 2009 as the "premier forum for international economic cooperation." Korea lost no time in meeting international expectations by successfully hosting the G20 summit in 2010.
For the first time, development policy issues were put on the G20 Summit agenda which came to be known as the "Seoul Consensus." Development has since been a standard agenda of every subsequent summit. As a country that transitioned from an aid recipient to a donor, Korea played a bridging role between the G20 and the Global South.
In a similar context, Korea's election to the non-permanent membership of the U.N. Security Council last week, for the third time in just three decades, will serve as another opportunity to display such leadership especially when the world is riddled with unprecedented poly-crises. Certainly, it can draw on two previous membership experiences for wisdom and insight.
It is one thing to be a member of the G8, G10 or D10, but it is another to play a leadership role commensurate with its national prowess and moral standings. Over the last several decades, Korea used to be called by various names ― "Asian tiger," "Little Asian Dragon," "shrimp among whales," "dolphin" and "middle power." Now, the Yoon government calls Korea a global pivotal state. Also, according to a media report, the forthcoming report of the Institute for Future Strategy of Seoul National University is expected to define Korea's status as a great power. This echoes the view of professor Ramon Pacheco Pardo at King's College London who in his recent book recognized Korea's growth from a shrimp to a whale.
Whether Korea has reached a great power level or not is debatable. But it may be fair to say that it is moving steadily in that direction. What is important, however, is that status or designation will follow when Korea leads by example, being mindful of "noblesse oblige." It depends on what we can do for the common public goods with humility, not for narrowly focused nationalistic dreams as often pursued by great powers and middle powers alike throughout history. The Yoon government is now "Present at the Creation" of a new regional and global order.
Yun Byung-se, a former foreign minister of South Korea (2013-17), is now a board member of the Korea Peace Foundation and a member of several ex-global leaders' forums and taskforces, including the Astana Forum and its Consultative Council as well as the Task Force on U.S. Allies and Nuclear Weapons Proliferation sponsored by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Reference:
Byung Se Yun, "Korea should lead by example" The Korea Times, June 15, 2023, https://sila.imweb.me/45/?q=YToxOntzOjEyOiJrZXl3b3JkX3R5cGUiO3M6MzoiYWxsIjt9&bmode=view&idx=25150737&t=board
Korea should lead by example
Posted : 2023-06-15 16:30
Updated : 2023-06-15 16:30
By Yun Byung-se
Last week, the Yoon Suk Yeol government released its first-ever National Security Strategy (NSS) with the subheading "Global Pivotal State (GPS) for Freedom, Peace and Prosperity." The NSS is expected to serve as a comprehensive guide for foreign, defense and unification policy direction throughout his government. It will put more flesh on the GPS vision, one of the six key pillars of national agendas. The NSS is designed to work in tandem with Yoon's Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) which was released late last year.
Both the NSS and the IPS dovetail well with the respective strategies of the U.S., Japan, EU, NATO and Australia. It marks a clear turnaround from the previous government in terms of vision, objectives and strategies.
Since the inception of GPS, a frequently asked question from our friends abroad, including the U.S., was, "GPS is a welcome vision, but where's the beef?" Now, one year into the presidency, the Yoon government has accumulated significant ammunition to offer its response, not just philosophically but through concrete policy actions. This came in the form of the ROK assistance to Ukraine and Pacific Islands countries, hosting and co-hosting the democracy summit, election as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, as well as participation in trilateral, plurilateral, regional and global initiatives on peace and security, development, climate change, health security, economic security and cybersecurity, to name a few.
It is no coincidence that President Yoon's recent G7 Summit participation in Hiroshima triggered a lively and serious debate at home on the need for Korea to join the club as a G8 ― not as an on-and-off guest to the G7.
Foreign Minister Park Jin is an eloquent spokesperson for the rationale. He submits that the Yoon government's multilateral diplomacy over the last year has elevated Korea's status to the G7 level. Many Korean experts and the Federation of Korean Industries support and further elaborate on this argument, offering statistics such as per capita GDP among countries with populations over 50 million, military capability and export volume which rank Korea between sixth and eighth, as well as its top-tier soft power.
It is also encouraging to see growing foreign opinions in favor of this elevated status and role for Korea as well.
Recently, former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Kathleen Stephens provided a cogent argument stating, "Over the last years, we've seen the Republic of Korea joining the top table of a whole variety of international institutions and not just its membership but its leadership in the G20 was very important, especially in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. It is very important for South Korea to continue to expand its leadership role in a variety of like-minded international institutions."
As she rightly noted, leadership is no less important than membership. Korea joined the inaugural G20 summit in 2008, which was formally designated in 2009 as the "premier forum for international economic cooperation." Korea lost no time in meeting international expectations by successfully hosting the G20 summit in 2010.
For the first time, development policy issues were put on the G20 Summit agenda which came to be known as the "Seoul Consensus." Development has since been a standard agenda of every subsequent summit. As a country that transitioned from an aid recipient to a donor, Korea played a bridging role between the G20 and the Global South.
In a similar context, Korea's election to the non-permanent membership of the U.N. Security Council last week, for the third time in just three decades, will serve as another opportunity to display such leadership especially when the world is riddled with unprecedented poly-crises. Certainly, it can draw on two previous membership experiences for wisdom and insight.
It is one thing to be a member of the G8, G10 or D10, but it is another to play a leadership role commensurate with its national prowess and moral standings. Over the last several decades, Korea used to be called by various names ― "Asian tiger," "Little Asian Dragon," "shrimp among whales," "dolphin" and "middle power." Now, the Yoon government calls Korea a global pivotal state. Also, according to a media report, the forthcoming report of the Institute for Future Strategy of Seoul National University is expected to define Korea's status as a great power. This echoes the view of professor Ramon Pacheco Pardo at King's College London who in his recent book recognized Korea's growth from a shrimp to a whale.
Whether Korea has reached a great power level or not is debatable. But it may be fair to say that it is moving steadily in that direction. What is important, however, is that status or designation will follow when Korea leads by example, being mindful of "noblesse oblige." It depends on what we can do for the common public goods with humility, not for narrowly focused nationalistic dreams as often pursued by great powers and middle powers alike throughout history. The Yoon government is now "Present at the Creation" of a new regional and global order.
Yun Byung-se, a former foreign minister of South Korea (2013-17), is now a board member of the Korea Peace Foundation and a member of several ex-global leaders' forums and taskforces, including the Astana Forum and its Consultative Council as well as the Task Force on U.S. Allies and Nuclear Weapons Proliferation sponsored by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Reference:
Byung Se Yun, "Korea should lead by example" The Korea Times, June 15, 2023, https://sila.imweb.me/45/?q=YToxOntzOjEyOiJrZXl3b3JkX3R5cGUiO3M6MzoiYWxsIjt9&bmode=view&idx=25150737&t=board