Will South Korea’s Populist New Leader Abandon Taiwan?
Host: Yin Khvat On June 3, South Korean voters elected Lee Jae-myung of the Korean Democratic Party as their country’s 14th president. The election was held less than six-months after then-president Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law, which sparked massive protests and resulted in Yoon’s impeachment. Despite high turn-out, the final result was closer than expected, with Lee receiving just under 50 percent of the vote. In such a closely divided country, will South Korea’s populist and often-controversial new leader tack to the center, or will he forge a more partisan path? And what do some of Lee’s past positive statements about China indicate for the future relationship between Seoul and Taipei? In this special episode, the TaiwanTalks team travels to the South Korean capital to hear from Korean experts about these recent political developments and what they mean for their country’s foreign policy. Our guests: Jaechun Kim - Sogang University Graduate School of International Studies Professor Choo Jaewoo - Kyung Hee University Department of Chinese Studies Professor
