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President Lee Jae Myung appears on the cover of Time magazine.

Korean President Lee Jae Myung told Time magazine that Korea will “stand together with the US in the new global order, as well as supply chains centered on the US,” but acknowledged the need “to manage our relationship with China so as not to antagonize them.”

Lee’s remarks reaffirm his administration’s commitment to orienting foreign policy on Korea’s national interest as he seeks to manage relations with China while maintaining the Korea-US alliance as the cornerstone of his foreign policy.

In his interview with Time, which was published on Thursday, Lee mentioned “a risk that South Korea could become the front line of a battle between two different blocs.”

“Our values of democracy and market economy are based on our US-South Korea alliance. But because of our geographical proximity to China, and our historical relationship, economic ties, as well as people-to-people ties, we cannot completely sever our relationship with China. So we need to manage our relationship at an adequate level, and I believe that the Western world has to be understanding in this regard,” Lee elaborated.

The Korean president noted that China had apparently wanted him to attend its recent Victory Day celebration, but he “didn’t ask further” and declined to make an appearance.

Since his inauguration as president, Lee has described his policy of carefully managing relations with China on several occasions. “We’ll stay close if it serves Korea’s national interest, and we’ll keep our distance if it doesn’t. There’s no place for pro-Chinese or anti-Chinese in foreign policy,” Lee told reporters on Aug. 24 while he was flying to Washington on the presidential plane.

Time reported that while Lee’s summit with Trump last month was “cordial,” “tough questions” remain about the US$350 billion investment fund that Korea has pledged — “Would it all be cash? And who would swallow any losses from the investments?”

Lee said he would have been “impeached” if he had caved to Trump’s exacting demands for the investment package. “I asked the US negotiating team for a reasonable alternative,” he added.

In related news, Lee welcomed Michael Sandel, the Harvard University professor, to the presidential office in Yongsan on Thursday afternoon. Sandel is well-known in Korea for his book “Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?”

“Concepts you’ve discussed such as the ‘peace dividend’ have recently made a very big impression on people in Korea. My sincere hope is that a peace regime will be established in Korea so that all citizens can enjoy the peace dividend,” Lee remarked.

The peace dividend refers to the economic benefits brought by the end of war and the easing of military tensions. Money spent on defense can be reinvested in welfare programs and economic growth.

Sandel said democracy would thrive if a peace regime were erected and polarization resolved on the Korean Peninsula. Recognizing the dignity of labor is an important step toward addressing the polarization between labor and the elite, he said.

Kang Yu-jung, a spokesperson for the presidential office, said that Sandel told the president that Korean democracy had inspired him to write a new chapter in his updated version of “Democracy’s Discontent,” which was originally published in 2022.

By Shin Hyeong-cheol, staff reporter

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