Korea’s reliance on US for security, China for economy has ‘lost validity,’ says Lee

President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea-kyung of South Korea arrive in Italy’s Rome Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport on June 10, 2026. (Park Jong-shik/Hankyoreh)

President Lee Jae Myung questioned a basic assumption about Korea’s foreign policy during a state visit to Italy on Thursday.“The basic framework of Korea’s foreign policy has been to rely on China for economic matters and on the US for our security. But given recent changes in the geopolitical environment, I believe that that binary approach has lost its validity,” Lee said in an interview published on Thursday with Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily newspaper.“Rather than attempting to maintain balance between the US and China, I intend to chart a new course based on Korea’s national interests and informed by a nuanced understanding of multiple factors, including cooperation, competition, and emerging challenges,” he said.“China is Korea’s biggest trading partner and an essential partner in supply chains. But from another perspective, it’s also true that competition has intensified between our two countries, and that’s because Chinese industry has grown more competitive and technologically advanced,” the president went on.“At this point in time, moving economic cooperation with the US into cutting-edge fields will help make our industry more competitive and will develop our economy,” Lee added.Lee’s comments appear to reaffirm his “pragmatic” foreign policy of making choices about whether to cooperate or compete on specific issues according to the national interest, rather than a binary choice between the US and China.While stressing Korea’s alliance with the US, Lee underlined that Korea seeks to be not a dependent ally, but a capable partner that takes responsibility for its own security.“While our alliance with the US remains the cornerstone of Korea’s foreign policy, we’re pursuing a strategy of bolstering our own capabilities and strengthening ties with a variety of countries as we develop and expand the US alliance according to the needs of our era. That’s also in line with what the US wants from the alliance,” Lee said.“With that in mind, the Korean government is seeking to recover wartime operational control (OPCON) over our armed forces and to increase defense spending,” he said.The Korean government’s goal is to complete the OPCON handover by 2027.By Seo Young-ji, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]