The Republic of Korea in the Geopolitical dimensions of the Russian-Ukrainian War: Official Political Discourse

Abstract

According to the analysis of political discourse and positions of South Korean society the geopolitical orientations of the Republic of Korea in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war are analyzed. It is proved that the events in Ukraine are directly related the Indo-Pacific region, including the Republic of Korea. The Russian-Ukrainian war affected changes in the configuration of forces in the region, in particular, strengthened the partnership of North Korea, China and Russia and caused opposition, and as a result, further strengthening of cooperation between the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan. It is emphasized that, in contrast to the North Korean regime, which supported Russia’s invasion to Ukraine, South Korea, despite the initial uncertainty and fluctuations in the choice of geopolitical guidelines, sided its American ally in defending Ukraine. The factors of influence upon the formation of the Ukrainian direction of the policy of the Republic of Korea are considered. These are, on the one hand, allied relations and obligations of the Republic of Korea towards the United States, belonging to the collective West, public opinion in the Republic of Korea, which has taken an anti-Russian position. At the same time, the Korean government sought to take into account interests in the field of maintaining stability in the economic sphere, as well as existing threats from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and China, which determined the tendency to maintain a balance of relations with Russia in order to minimize security and economic risks. Although during 2022 the Republic of Korea provided financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine with a tendency of its growth for the future, and also perceived the possibility of indirect support for Ukraine with weapons, the current administrations refused to provide direct military assistance to Kyiv, as other democracies do. It is noted regarding analysis of the main evaluative approaches of representatives of Korean, American and Ukrainian politicians, as well as experts on foreign policy of the Republic of Korea that the complexity and ambiguity of Seoul’s geopolitical orientations under the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war reflects the general complexity of relations between the countries of East Asia. It is the situation, when the withdrawal of a player outside the “rules of the game” defined before the start of the war (this time the Republic of Korea) can lead to a sharp deterioration in the security situation with the division of the countries of the region into two openly confrontational camps. Stabilization position in this regard with the strengthening of the role of the Republic of Korea in supporting Ukraine can be played by the United States, which, relying on other democratic countries, as well as under conditions of deepening strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea, is able to deter negative security challenges from both the DPRK and China. It is argued that the strengthening of assistance to Ukraine by the Republic of Korea is also associated with the deepening of a comprehensive partnership between Ukraine and South Korea as a factor that will serve the stabilization processes on both the European and Asian continents.