The Inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol Government and Prospects for South Korea–Japan Relations

Abstract

Since 2012, South Korea-Japan relations have deteriorated structurally in the long run, and the conflict between South Korea-Japan relations has expanded and deepened since the Moon Jae-in government. The conflict over historical issues, including the comfort women and the wartime forced labor, are the main factors that worsened the bilateral relations, but since 2018, confrontation has also expanded in the economic and security areas. In the background of the spread of conflict in all directions of South Korea-Japan relations, there is a phenomenon of power transition in international politics in Northeast Asia. While China is rapidly emerging as a superpower, South Korea has emerged as a mid-sized country through democratization and economic growth, and Japan is facing a decline in relative national power. The South Korea-Japan relationship is no longer a vertical relationship, but a horizontal relationship. In the meantime, the relations between two countries have become more misunderstood and biased in mutual recognition via medias, and strategically underestimate the importance of the other party. The dialogue and communication between leaders have long been cut off, and mutual trust has declined. However, since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol government in May 2022, South Korea has been making multidimensional efforts to improve relations with Japan and normalize relations. While gathering wisdom to solve the wartime forced labor issue, it is focusing on cooperation in North Korea policy and restoring the security cooperation system between South Korea, the US, and Japan. Even if the Kishida government has evaluated the Yoon government's efforts to improve bilateral relations, it has not been able to show an active attitude to improve relations on its own.