{"id":2199015,"date":"2022-09-21T09:12:12","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T09:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199015"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:34","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:34","slug":"yoon-stands-up-for-universal-norms-but-fails-to-explain-how-hell-defend-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/09\/yoon-stands-up-for-universal-norms-but-fails-to-explain-how-hell-defend-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoon stands up for \u2018universal norms\u2019 but fails to explain how he\u2019ll defend them"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has articulated a consistent foreign policy message since taking office in May: Under his watch, Seoul will take an active role in defending the rules-based international order that has been instrumental in the country\u2019s development from colonial victim to global power.<\/span><\/p>\n

His rhetoric has been a notable and commendable departure from his predecessors. Korean governments have typically been more hesitant than their democratic peers to advocate for democracy and human rights abroad due to self-interested myopia. As a result, South Korean foreign policy has been reliably indifferent to any global issue not directly related to Korean trade, Korean investments, or Korean security.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon\u2019s speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday (U.S. time) was a continuation of his message of change. Titled \u201c<\/span>Freedom and Solidarity: Answers to the Watershed Moment<\/span><\/a>,” the speech runs just under 12 minutes but contains 22 mentions of the word \u201cfreedom” and six mentions of the words \u201cnorm\u201d or \u201cnormative.\u201d The rhetoric is clear: The focus of South Korean policy is moving from the balance sheet to real values.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the president\u2019s suggestion of a \u201cparadigm shift\u201d was largely belied by his conspicuous lack of detail. In his speech, Yoon repeatedly declares that \u201cuniversal norms\u201d are important, but never actually names any particular norm that Seoul is committed to defending, other than vague and oft-repeated allusions to the importance of freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Equally absent is any suggestion of a change in policy. Yoon discusses increasing Korea\u2019s financial contributions to developing nations and providing assistance in combating infectious diseases and climate change. These are the sort of safe purely financial commitments that wouldn\u2019t have been out of place in a speech from any of Yoon\u2019s predecessors, and the fact that they are being repeated here casts doubt over Yoon\u2019s message.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Pinwheels with the South Korean flag in Aug. 2016 | Image: Jeon Han \/ Republic of Korea Flickr<\/p><\/div>\n

WHAT\u2019S IT ALL FOR?<\/b><\/p>\n

The issue with Korean foreign policy has never been a lack of largesse \u2014 but rather a lack of conviction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, what more does South Korea plan to do to defend the norm against wars of aggression in the face of Russia\u2019s unprecedented invasion of Ukraine? Aside from a vague reference to attempts to alter the status quo \u201cby force,\u201d Yoon does not condemn Russian aggression or even offer solidarity to the Ukrainian people in his speech. There is no commitment to increase Korean assistance beyond the baseline level of the humanitarian aid they currently provide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon is equally silent on other pressing threats to the rules-based international order, and what Korea plans to do about them. We have no idea whether Korea is willing to reduce its reliance on trade with increasingly illiberal regimes, or if it will contribute to multilateral security initiatives with its democratic peers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The speech offered no mention of any efforts to improve South Korea\u2019s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing political violence, or whether Seoul would make any effort whatsoever to uphold the rights of vulnerable women and minorities, both domestically and across the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Koreans looking to today\u2019s speech for a new way forward, disappointment is inevitable. For all the high expectations set by Yoon and his advisors, what he actually delivered was a milquetoast speech that would not have been out of place if it was delivered verbatim at the General Assembly 20 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

PUNCHING BELOW ITS WEIGHT<\/b><\/p>\n

Yoon did not make up for the lack of policy details with an appeal to pathos. If we are looking for emerging new leadership in today\u2019s increasingly uncertain world, there are few countries with a more compelling trajectory than South Korea. A former colonial victim torn apart by civil war has transformed itself into one of the freest, richest societies on Earth, all while deterring an illiberal regime at its northern border for over seven decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Korea has the perfect blend of historical experience and modern capability to take the lead in the emerging struggle against tyranny, aggression and unilateralism. Rather than simply repeating the word freedom, Yoon had an opportunity to offer a more empathetic narrative of how South Korea learned that freedom is not free, and why that has made ROK citizens willing to foot the bill now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But aside from a cursory mention of the Korean War toward the end of his speech, he did not.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2018 superhero film \u201cBlack Panther\u201d closes with its titular character \u2014 who rules the secretive but powerful African kingdom of Wakanda \u2014 triumphantly declaring at the U.N. that Wakanda would end its policy of isolationism and share its resources with the world. If Yoon and his staff were crafting his speech in search of their own Wakanda moment, then they have unfortunately failed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

South Korea may not be able to offer the world costumed superheroes or invisible jets, but it has far more to offer than the empty platitudes on display in Yoon\u2019s speech.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Arius Derr<\/em><\/p>\n

Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has articulated a consistent foreign policy message since taking office in May: Under his watch, Seoul will take an active role in defending the rules-based international order that has been instrumental in the country\u2019s development from colonial victim to global power. His rhetoric has been a notable and commendable departure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7824,"featured_media":2199016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-2199015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-inter-korean-foreign-relations"],"yoast_head":"\nYoon stands up for \u2018universal norms\u2019 but fails to explain how he\u2019ll defend them - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/09\/yoon-stands-up-for-universal-norms-but-fails-to-explain-how-hell-defend-them\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Yoon stands up for \u2018universal norms\u2019 but fails to explain how he\u2019ll defend them - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has articulated a consistent foreign policy message since taking office in May: Under his watch, Seoul will take an active role in defending the rules-based international order that has been instrumental in the country\u2019s development from colonial victim to global power. 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