On the 25th (local time), President Lee Jae-myung stated, “We cannot maintain the same stance as in the past” regarding the ‘Anmikyungjung’ (security with the US, economy with China) policy which balances economic cooperation with China and security cooperation with the US.
During a lecture at the invitation of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the US, when an attendee questioned whether South Korea relies on the US for security while reaping economic benefits from others, President Lee responded with this explanation.
President Lee recalled, “Until the US began its strong containment policy towards China, South Korea had indeed maintained the stance of ‘security with the US, economy with China.’”
He further explained that “recent years have seen a significant reorganization of supply chains between the free world and the China-centered bloc, with US policies explicitly moving towards containing China.”
He stated, “South Korea is now in a situation where we cannot act or make decisions contrary to the basic policy of the US,” and noted that “relationships with China must be managed at a level that maintains inevitable connections due to geographical proximity.”
However, he added, “It is true that even the US is competing with China and, in some cases, clashing, while simultaneously cooperating in certain areas.”