[Editorial] Yoon’s clumsy diplomacy adds to confusion with Pelosi

Posted on : 2022-08-05 17:41 KST Modified on : 2022-08-05 17:41 KST
In a fraught diplomatic environment, Korea needs to make clear that its foreign policy is based on definite principles and positions
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is welcomed to Korea by US Ambassador Philip Goldberg and Gen. Paul LaCamera, the commander of US Forces Korea, after arriving in the country on Aug. 3. No representatives of the Korean government were present. (from Twitter of US Embassy to Korea)
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is welcomed to Korea by US Ambassador Philip Goldberg and Gen. Paul LaCamera, the commander of US Forces Korea, after arriving in the country on Aug. 3. No representatives of the Korean government were present. (from Twitter of US Embassy to Korea)

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol had an unplanned phone call with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her time in Korea on Thursday in lieu of meeting her in person. Yoon appears to have chosen the path of prudence given soaring tensions between China and the US, with China objecting vociferously to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and initiating large-scale military exercises on the same day that effectively encircled the self-governing island. However, Korea’s presidential office created confusion by abruptly arranging the phone call after sending a series of contradictory messages over the past two days about whether Yoon and Pelosi would meet.

As the attention of the world was fixed on Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Wednesday, the Korean presidential office changed its tune several times. First, it said that Yoon wouldn’t meet the House speaker because he was on vacation. Later, it said that a meeting was being coordinated, only to turn around and say there would be no meeting after all.

On Wednesday evening, photos were released showing Yoon and his wife enjoying their vacation by going to a play in Seoul’s theater district and then mingling with the actors afterward. Around the same time, nobody from the Korean government was present at the airport when Pelosi and her entourage arrived, prompting criticism that she’d been given a diplomatic cold shoulder. After Yoon came under sharp fire the following morning from conservatives who wanted to know why he couldn’t meet Pelosi if he had time to attend a play, the presidential office abruptly announced the schedule for the phone call.

Following a conference with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo on Thursday morning, Pelosi visited the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom to encourage the troops stationed there. Later that afternoon, Korea’s National Security Office said, Yoon emphasized the “global comprehensive strategic alliance” between Korea and the US during a 40-minute phone call with Pelosi from his home. Following repeated questions from reporters, the presidential office stressed that Pelosi had been told in advance that Yoon was unable to meet her because of his vacation plans.

While Yoon has been vocal in his support for the US and his opposition to China, his decision to speak with Pelosi over the phone, rather than meeting her in person, can be seen as a compromise that takes into account Korea’s delicate position amid the conflict between China and the US. But it was obvious that such a conflict would arise over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, and if the presidential office had decided on this course of action to avoid straining relations with China, it ought to have made the requisite preparations so as to prevent confusion.

In a fraught diplomatic environment in which China is reacting testily as the US pushes Korea to join a semiconductor supply network known as the “Chip 4” alliance alongside Japan and Taiwan, Korea needs to make clear that its foreign policy is based on definite principles and positions. The dilly-dallying over Yoon’s proposed meeting and phone call with Pelosi is sure to deepen doubts about his capabilities in that regard.

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

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