{"id":2205305,"date":"2024-05-31T14:38:33","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T05:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2205305"},"modified":"2024-06-03T18:31:45","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T09:31:45","slug":"seoul-forced-to-navigate-geopolitical-minefield-after-icc-targets-israel-hamas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/05\/seoul-forced-to-navigate-geopolitical-minefield-after-icc-targets-israel-hamas\/","title":{"rendered":"Seoul forced to navigate geopolitical minefield after ICC targets Israel, Hamas"},"content":{"rendered":"
The International Criminal Court\u2019s (ICC) decision to seek arrest warrants for the leaders of Hamas and Israel has placed South Korea in a difficult diplomatic position, forcing the country to weigh its relationships with international partners against its advocacy for global norms.<\/span><\/p>\n The ICC\u2019s move has sparked international controversy and global diplomatic tension. U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, have criticized the court. Senator Lindsey Graham warned Congress, \u201cIf they\u2019ll do this to Israel, we\u2019re next.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although Seoul has largely sidestepped the conflict and avoided commenting directly on Israel\u2019s military strikes in Gaza, experts suggested the spat may soon spill over to U.S. allies.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEspecially at a time when the ROK\u2019s role in the U.N. and its international status is rising, South Korea may face an awkward situation of raising voices about, for instance, North Korean human rights issues while staying largely silent about civilian deaths in other parts of the world,\u201d Min Tae-eun, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt will be important for ROK authorities to prepare to take a stance if needed in the future, but for now, it seems most realistic that ROK will not comment about the conflict in the Middle East unless pushed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n BREWING DIPLOMATIC SPAT<\/b><\/p>\n In response to Washington\u2019s criticism of the arrest warrants, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan claimed that a \u201csenior leader\u201d from the U.S. pressured him not to pursue Israeli leaders, stating that the court was meant for \u201cthugs like Putin\u201d and Africa, not for the U.S. and its allies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Various experts immediately criticized the alleged statement as a sign of the U.S. applying different norms for itself and its allies.<\/span><\/p>\n Washington maintains that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over citizens from non-member states such as Israel and the U.S., challenging the court\u2019s authority on the grounds that Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. opposition against the ICC goes beyond Israel because of the Constitution. American citizens cannot be tried by a higher court than the U.S. Supreme Court because that is as high as it goes in America,\u201d Arius Derr, a Ph.D candidate at The Australian National University (ANU) who researches U.S. foreign policy, told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere is a perception in Tel Aviv and Washington that international institutions such as the ICC equate Hamas, a terrorist organization, with Israel, a free democracy,\u201d the expert said. \u201cWhether or not this is true, the concern is that Israeli citizens cannot possibly get a fair trial at the international court, thus the opposition.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n However, other experts viewed the situation as a more complicated form of geopolitical maneuvering.<\/span><\/p>\n The U.S. response to the ICC decision was \u201cnot necessarily because Washington supports whatever Israel does, but due to strategic judgment\u201d about Israel\u2019s utility for the U.S., said Min of KINU.<\/span><\/p>\n Kang Won-gu, a research professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), agreed that the U.S. is under pressure to maintain influence in the Middle East, which has waned over the past few administrations with China trying to fill the vacuum.<\/span><\/p>\n Kang pointed out that the ICC arrest warrant is largely symbolic and impractical due to a lack of recognition of the court\u2019s jurisdiction in many parts of the world, but emphasized that it influences public opinion and could thus put pressure on South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cShortly after Biden came into office, his administration raised concerns about violence in the Middle East, such as in Saudi Arabia, in a way that aligned with American values of liberal democracy. However, the U.S. has not been consistent in demanding Israel\u2019s adherence to those same values,\u201d Kang said.<\/span><\/p>\n Amnesty International published in April a <\/span>research briefing<\/span><\/a> documenting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons by Israel to commit violations of international law in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not saying that we should overlook the atrocities Hamas has committed, but ambiguous messaging about Israel is strategically unwise, as it may negatively impact Middle Eastern dynamics,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n