The Challenges of the Indo-Pacific Strategy for South Korea

For this event, there will be an opportunity to join us in person at Stockholm University or online via Zoom. Registration for participation on-site at rvilla@isdp.eu.

Last month, the Yoon government unveiled the ROK’s first Indo-Pacific strategy. It emphasizes a “future-oriented diplomacy” focusing on “collective” alliances with Indo-Pacific nations to construct a robust and sustainable regional order. The strategy reiterates Seoul’s commitment to strengthen its ties with Indo-Pacific nations, deter the DPRK and balance the U.S. and China to preserve stability on the Peninsula.

ISDP’s Korea Center, in collaboration with Stockholm University, is honored to invite Dr. Lee Jae-Seung to hold a public lecture on the challenges of the Indo-Pacific Strategy for South Korea.

Given the strategy’s launch amid an intensive North Korean missile testing campaign and the escalating US-China strategic competition, Dr. Lee will first bring some clarity to the political and institutional context of the Indo-Pacific strategy to make clear its aims and why it makes sense for South Korea to pursue it at this time. 

This backdrop allows the discussion to move on to exploring some potential challenges. Significantly, the strategy assumes an active pursuit of multilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific on a broad range of economic, political, and technological issues, but South Korea is hardly the only making moves in the region. What are the prospects of the Yoon government to achieve its foreign policy aims in an increasingly competitive world order? How does South Korean relations with North Korea, China, and India influence the strategy’s likelihood for success? And what is the strategy overlooking? The discussion will address these questions among others. 

Following the presentation, the floor will be opened up for a Q&A session.

Program: 

15:00-15:10 – Welcome & Introductory Remarks 

15:10-16:30 – Lecture, moderated by Riccardo Villa 

16:30-17:00 – Q&A Session 

17:00 – Concluding remarks 

About the speaker:

Dr. Lee Jae-Seung, Professor and Jean Monnet Chair, College of International Studies, Korea University.