South Korea’s inaugural Indo-Pacific Strategy lists Southeast Asia as a regional priority for Seoul, but experts fear a lack of specifics in the new policy could spread the ROK’s priorities too thin and force it to lose traction in an increasingly competitive region. 

The strategy stresses that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region remains central to Seoul’s foreign policy, serving as its second-largest trading partner and investment destination and the top travel destination and largest official development assistance (ODA) partner from South Korea’s side.