{"id":2197324,"date":"2022-07-07T19:04:37","date_gmt":"2022-07-07T10:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2197324"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:12:11","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:12:11","slug":"was-yoon-suk-yeols-trip-to-nato-summit-a-success-it-depends-who-you-ask","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/07\/was-yoon-suk-yeols-trip-to-nato-summit-a-success-it-depends-who-you-ask\/","title":{"rendered":"Was Yoon Suk-yeol’s trip to NATO Summit a success? It depends who you ask."},"content":{"rendered":"
Breaking with past precedent, newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol chose the NATO Summit in Madrid as the destination of his first official trip abroad instead of the U.S. Whether or not he and his delegation were successful depends on which side of the aisle one finds themselves on in South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n Conservative observers and media personalities praised the first-ever presidential participation in a NATO meeting as the right step and a success. Kang Chun-Suk, former chief editor of the <\/span>Chosun Ilbo<\/span><\/i><\/a>, wrote that Yoon made certain that the new administration would follow a pro-Western, not pro-Chinese political line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korean National Diplomatic Academy, <\/span>wrote<\/span><\/a> that Yoon\u2019s Madrid trip was a sign of Korean diplomacy becoming global. According to him, gone are the days when ROK leaders experimented with balanced diplomacy, as Seoul has no choice but to move even closer to Washingtons. In Korean political jargon, \u201cbalanced diplomacy\u201d (\uade0\ud615 \uc678\uad50) designates the policy of maintaining good relations with all major international players, but in practice, often means balancing between China and the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n Liberal figures and media in South Korea were far more critical, accusing Yoon of taking an excessively pro-American stance and deviating from the \u201cbalanced diplomacy\u201d line.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Leading leftwing newspaper <\/span>Hankyoreh<\/span><\/i> published lengthy <\/span>columns<\/span><\/a> slamming<\/span><\/a> Yoon\u2019s participation in the NATO Summit as \u201cbad for Korea.\u201d Democratic Party leader Woo Sang-ho <\/span>told<\/span><\/a> national broadcaster KBS that, \u201cBalanced diplomacy fits national interest best. I believe it is dangerous to choose one side in the ongoing New Cold War. Aren\u2019t we making China tense?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kim Joon-hyung, a stalwart of the left and a professor at Handong University, <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> that Yoon should not have gone to the NATO Summit at all. He previously compared the president to a \u201cmoth rushing to the light\u201d and accused him of being \u201cobsessed with the United States alone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n