hankyoreh

U.S. President George Bush has canceled his plan to visit Seoul after the Group of Eight summit to be held in Japan at the beginning of July. At this time, it is uncertain whether he will reschedule his visit for a later date. Though President Lee Myung-bak and President Bush will still hold a bilateral summit in Japan, the meaning of the talks is quite different. This is a rarity in the history of ties between Seoul and Washington.

It is not difficult to guess why Bush has not kept his promise to visit, a vow made during the Korea-U.S. summit in Washington in April. He must have concluded that his visit will aggravate anti-U.S. sentiment at a time when public opinion in Korea about the United States has taken a negative turn. As Bush is in the last stage of his term, there is nothing so urgent as to warrant a controversial trip to Korea. For all of that, it is regrettable that the trip has been canceled.

At fault is the Lee government’s tactless diplomacy. In an effort to restore the ROK-U.S. partnership, Seoul promised a complete opening of its beef market shortly before the bilateral summit in April. This attitude of valuing the demands of the United States over the public health and the nation’s quarantine sovereignty has sparked unprecedented public opposition. By canceling the Bush visit, the United States appears to be wondering whether it can trust the Lee government.

More importantly, the current situation is in danger of repeating itself as long as the Lee government sticks to the idea of maintaining a “strategic alliance” between the two nations. To achieve a strategic partnership, the two countries should keep pace with each other on important world issues. As Gordon Flake, the executive director of the Mansfield Foundation, said at a seminar held in Seoul on June 24, Korea should take significant responsibility for the strategic partnership with the United States, both financially and militarily.

However, few Koreans think that a strategic partnership of this kind does much for the national interest. Considering the difference in strength between the two nations, the strategic alliance will lead Korea to be a kind of servant to the United States. As shown by the controversy over the beef agreement, a situation such as this can cause conflicts between the two countries by generating negative public opinion in Korea.

What the government should do now is reflect on its attitude and establish a basic framework for relations between the two countries. It should also reevaluate its plans for the strategic alliance, which the government would have implemented during the planned Bush visit, giving full consideration to the national interest and basing its conclusions on a dispassionate look at Korea’s place in the world. If the government doesn’t learn its lesson this time around, it is not just the government but the people who will suffer the effects of its folly.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]