한국이 추진할 가치외교 = Korea’s Indo-Pacific Strategy is A Declaration of Value-based Diplomacy

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

After 1948, the Korean government has successfully adjusted the basic orientation of its foreign and security policy at each important juncture in international relations.
During the Cold War, Korea based its foreign and security policy on liberal democracy, market economy, human rights and the rule of law, the values underlying the rules-based international order. That orientation enabled Korea’s economic development and political democratization.
Forty years later, the Cold War came to an end. Former communist countries rushed to seek reform and liberalization. It looked possible to expand the “rules-based international order” to the whole world. This time, Korea declared its “Northern Policy” aimed at normalizing relations with former communist countries. The policy also provided an opportunity to further accelerate Korea’s economic growth.
Unfortunately, that era is coming to an end. The “rules-based international order” is meeting with huge challenges. President Biden calls these challenges a fight “between democracy and autocracy.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz calls them “Zeitenwende,” meaning an inflection point in history. Korea has to brace itself for fundamental changes in the security and economic environment of the world and the Indo-Pacific. It was against such a backdrop that Korea declared its Indo-Pacific Strategy on Dec. 28, last year.
The declaration emphasizes the importance for Korea to work to preserve the “rules-based international order,” and concludes with nine core lines of effort that need to be made. The first core line is “Building regional order based on norms and rules”; “In realizing the vision for a free Indo-Pacific, the Republic of Korea is committed to partnering with like-minded countries that share the values of freedom, the rule of law and human rights as well as international norms to contribute to the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.”
The Korean government has to do a lot of homework to advance the “Strategy”; broadening public support for the “Strategy”; establishing the whole of the government governance system for implementation; ability to deal with various issues raised in the process of implementation; and maintaining mutually beneficial relations with countries not sharing our values.