South Korea in the New Year faces various risks and opportunities in its foreign policy.

As President Yoon Suk-yeol is a few months away from starting his second year in office after setting the country on a path toward becoming what he dubbed a “global pivotal state,” Seoul will need to tread carefully. Intensifying U.S.-China rivalry in the Indo-Pacific and Russia’s continued war in Europe threaten supply chains that the ROK desperately needs and tests Seoul’s commitment to defending democratic values.