[Kim Seong-kon] What we expect from our new president

Korea Herald

2 days ago

The 2025 presidential election day is over now. Whoever may be inaugurated as our next president, he will be heavily burdened with so many urgent tasks because the country's situation is unprecedentedly dire.
Among others, our new leader must put an end to the chronic sickness of political revenge that has plagued our country for the past two decades. In the eyes of foreigners, South Korea may look like a politically underdeveloped country because no president has been safe since 2009: one died by suicide, one was imprisoned and two were impeached. Another one is presently under investigation by the prosecution. Such incidents are far from normal. They are not supposed to happen in a fully developed, advanced country.
Indeed, that is why our new president must find and appoint truly able and competent cabinet members. Some of his predecessors ran the country with the help of amateurs, such as their former high-school buddies, or those who were already personally close to them, regardless of their aptitude or qualifications. Such nepotism has caused a lot of damage to our country.
Our new president also must not forget or ignore the fact that South Korea is a Free World country of liberal democracy, not an authoritarian socialist country of a so-called 'people's democracy.' It is imperative that he honor and value liberal democracy and should not attempt to change the fundamentals of our country according to his own political ideology.
These days, experts have pointed out that democracy is in jeopardy, as it produces legitimately elected dictators. Thus, we hope that our new leader is an unpretentious, humanitarian person, not an elected tyrant who manipulates and controls the administrative, the legislative and the judicial branches all together. If he is self-righteous, opinionated and tyrannical, he will surely ruin our country and make our lives miserable.
To ensure Korea survives these international crises, our leader needs to be a skillful diplomat who, depending on the situation, can use, as needed, both what Dag Hammarskjold has called "quiet diplomacy," and 'wolf warrior diplomacy,' another term that one of our neighboring countries is using these days.
The most outstanding and compelling diplomatic issue we are now facing is how to deal with America's 'reciprocal benefits' policy. In other words, how to deal with the heavy tariffs recently imposed by the US and the expense-sharing issue for the US troops stationed in Korea. Experts suggest that South Korea's unparalleled shipbuilding industry and semiconductor technology could serve as good leverage when we deal with America.
Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration is now considering the relocation of 4,500 out of 28,500 American soldiers in South Korea to Guam and other Indo-Pacific regions. The US government may think that such 'strategic flexibility' is necessary, especially when war clouds are hanging over Taiwan. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, it is 'a move that could stir new anxiety among allies worried about the White House commitment to Asia.'
Therefore, our new president must find the best way to deal with the above issues. For one thing, he should persuade the US government that the American troops in Korea are mutually beneficial because they also serve America's strategies to deter North Korea. He also should remind American politicians how America, too, greatly benefited from the help of their blood ally, South Korea, during the Vietnam War.
Another diplomatic conflict our new leader must solve is our neighboring countries' violation of our sea and air borders. We hope our new president can valiantly stand tall, strongly protest and boldly exercise countermeasures, if necessary. If our president seems timid or weak, our country will not only lose respect but also end up inviting more aggressive violations of international laws from other countries.
In addition, our new president also must prepare for the anticipated side effects of a possible war in Taiwan. Experts have warned of two possibilities if a Taiwan War broke out by any chance. One is that US airbases in South Korea might be attacked by missiles. The other possibility is that North Korea might provoke a war by miscalculation. Either way, we should be prepared.
These days, political analysts worry that the world is now regressing to the World War II era when the strong manipulated the weak. It is unnerving and disheartening news to us, to say the least. To protect us from foreign aggression, we may need to join the league of countries sharing the same values, including Japan, Australia and Southeast Asian countries.
We hope that our new president knows where to go and what to do to protect his people and the nation, instead of simply enjoying the fame of his privileged post. In a 2025 American film, 'Sniper: The Last Stand,' a military commander says, 'A leader knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. Leadership is an action, not a position.'
Indeed, the future of Korea depends on our new president's superb leadership.