{"id":2199124,"date":"2022-10-10T09:31:54","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T09:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199124"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:29","slug":"multilateralism-key-for-south-korean-supply-chains-growing-arms-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/multilateralism-key-for-south-korean-supply-chains-growing-arms-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Multilateralism key for South Korean supply chains, growing arms industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Korea has become an economic force in the Indo-Pacific region, exporting its goods to Asia and the world at <\/span>G20-level volumes<\/span><\/a> and thereby fueling the country\u2019s growth over the past half-century. It has been a beneficiary of globalization and a vocal proponent for it on the global stage.<\/span><\/p>\n However, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed to the surface many <\/span>issues<\/span><\/a> related to international trade, converging geopolitics and economics in a way not seen before. A rising China, U.S.-China decoupling, the weaponization of tariffs and other trade restrictions as well as the spread of illiberalism all challenge the institutions that make South Korea a rich, prosperous country.<\/span><\/p>\n Among Seoul\u2019s most burning questions in 2022 are whether the country can play a vital role in supply chain resiliency and whether defense cooperation with Wahington and others has a ceiling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The national and economic security of South Korea links directly to the risk associated with disruptions in supply chains. A crisis in one country can cripple the economy of another. One example is China\u2019s decision to slap <\/span>inspection certificates<\/span><\/a> on all fertilizer exports, truncating critical supplies such as urea and threatening <\/span>South Korea\u2019s transportation and energy<\/span><\/a> sectors.<\/span><\/p>\n Seoul fully understands <\/span>the danger<\/span><\/a> of politicizing foreign businesses and investments. But the ROK\u2019s concentration of and reliance on manufacturing in one opaque country (China) exacerbates any disruptions to supplies and makes South Korea vulnerable to the political whims of Xi Jinping.<\/span><\/p>\n Successive governments, including the <\/span>Yoon administration<\/span><\/a>, have <\/span>sought to address<\/span><\/a> this overt dependency through primarily <\/span>U.S.-led<\/span><\/a> trade institutions and mechanisms such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, Chip 4 alliance and so-called <\/span>friend-shoring<\/span><\/a> \u2014 or efforts to spread manufacturing within groups of friendly countries. Seoul also participates in multilateral platforms like the Global Supply Chain summit as a norm-influencer, shaping principles of transparency, diversification, security and sustainability in guiding a resilient supply chain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the same time, South Korea can\u2019t entirely ditch China and has <\/span>subsequently worked<\/span><\/a> to \u201cstrengthen communication and dialogue for stable supply management\u201d within the Indo-Pacific. Seoul has also engaged with Southeast Asia in <\/span>bilateral<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>ASEAN-Plus Three format<\/span><\/a>, and expanded engagement with <\/span>Mongolia<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Australia<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Indonesia<\/span><\/a> specifically to address resilient critical mineral supply chains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n