Lee Jae-myung’s incoming team’s institutional approach collides with Trump’s disruptive foreign policy tactics
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s foreign policy team’s institutionalist instincts clash with U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictable diplomacy at a moment when trade, alliance costs and regional alignment risks are intensifying.
With critical decisions due on tariffs, defense cost-sharing and multilateral engagement, the mismatch in diplomatic styles could leave South Korea outpaced and strategically sidelined.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s foreign policy team’s institutionalist instincts clash with U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictable diplomacy at a moment when trade, alliance costs and regional alignment risks are intensifying.
With critical decisions due on tariffs, defense cost-sharing and multilateral engagement, the mismatch in diplomatic styles could leave South Korea outpaced and strategically sidelined.
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