President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands prior to their summit at Gyeongju National Museum on the occasion of the APEC summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Oct. 29, 2025. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae
This is the second in a series of articles examining economic, political, diplomatic and social changes that have occurred during the Lee Jae Myung administration since the president’s inauguration on June 4, 2025.
Since taking office about a year ago, President Lee Jae Myung has been navigating diplomatic headwinds with a pragmatic approach, which analysts say has served South Korea well in flexibly maintaining relations across Northeast Asia and beyond.
The defining feature of Lee's foreign policy is what he calls "pragmatic diplomacy prioritizing national interests." He has pursued self-reliance over ideological alignment, guiding Seoul in a balancing act at a time of intensifying rivalry between Washington and Beijing, as security and economic issues became increasingly intertwined.
Lee courted U.S. President Donald Trump through alliance-reassuring investments as Trump retreated from global leadership under his “America First” policy, while working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to fully restore bilateral ties after years of diplomatic unease, dating back to the 2017 deployment of a U.S. missile shield in South Korea.
