Can South Korea Trust the United States?

Abstract

In meetings with their US counterparts, South Korean policymakers have repeatedly raised the same question: can South Korea trust the United States? The answer is a resounding and increasingly exasperated “yes” fromAmerican officials and experts. However, doubts have surfaced over the past year on the Korean side regarding US commitments to the US-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance, despite Seoul and Washington publicly reaffirming the ironclad nature of their 70-year alliance. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s April 2023 state visit to Washington DC and his summit meeting with President Joseph Biden, their second in as many years, was aimed at demonstrating the importance of the US-ROK alliance to both Americans and South Koreans, while also acknowledging South Korea’s growing role in the Indo-Pacific. Although the Yoon-Biden summit may have been meaningful in helping the two governments and their respective domestic audiences think about the future value of the alliance, it did not necessarily resolve some of the underlying bilateral tensions. Two specific issues have driven rising South Korean angst over the past year. The first is a small provision found in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden that eliminates up to $7,500 in tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) produced outside of the United States to encourage US consumers to buy American goods. The legislation excluded South