1. Upgrading the Korea-U.S. Alliance in a World in Transition
    / LEE Kark-Bum (President, Korean-American Relation Vision 21 Forum/President, Future THINKNET)

The World is going through a great transition.  Various signs hint the major transition ahead:

 

The nature of capitalism is changing, or at least being reviewed, as the US-originated financial and economic crisis has worldwide consequences. 

 

In East Asia, China is rising dramatically as Japan remains relatively stagnant.  The possibility of the shift from the uni-polar system led by the United States to a multi-polar one may cause a sudden stir in the current constellation of powers.

 

The notion of “risk society” is becoming ever more real.  Control of weapons of mass destruction is weakening, and the prevention and elimination of terrorism and piracy are far from complete.

 

Environmental issues including global warming and depletion of traditional energy sources present problems that the solution of which demands changes in the current way of living.

 

The extent of globalization is felt not only by the growth in international trade and investment: problems within a nation often travel across borders and become global issues.

 

In this age of uncertainty, Korea and the United States should work together towards a change that would enhance the welfare and promote peace for the human kind.  The establishment of global governance should take place.

 

In East Asia, preventing a new hegemony struggle and bringing a concerted effort to establish peace and order is crucial.  North Korea should be denuclearized.  East Asia should regain the priority of the United States foreign policy in order to promote the cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan until North Korea democratizes, reforms, and opens the door.

 

As Korea and the United States have agreed upon after the inauguration of President Lee Myung-bak, the alliance between the two countries should be enhanced by “Value Alliance,” “Reliance Alliance,” and “Peace Alliance.”  Such alliance would serve as a solid foundation for the two countries to jointly tackle global issues such as environmental issues and terrorism.

 

There are indications that show that the United States President-elect Obama will depart from the unilateralism exercised by the previous administration and have more emphasis in internationalism in solving global issues.

 

At this juncture, the role of the United States is crucial in reducing and controlling growing risk world wide.  In East Asia, for the peace and order in the region, a strengthened and deepened alliance between Korea and the United States is called for.

 

For a more organic, sophisticated, and future-oriented Korea-US relations, the following steps are required:

 

We should build a strong and flexible network that enhances soft power;

 

We must work together towards coexistence of people and nature.

 

The exchange and development of knowledge, culture, and common value should be at the heart of the Korea-U.S. Relations;

 

The reliance between Korea and the US should be strengthened.  The key to a peace process is reliance.

 

We must participate in establishing countermeasures to high-technology crimes in the future. 

2. A New Vision for the ROK-US Alliance: The Second Take-off of the Korean Peninsula

    / CHO Sang-Hoon (Visiting Professor, Hallym University/Former Ambassador to Australia)

The global economic crisis unveils a new reality of the emerging strategic environment in East Asia, which is characterized by the declining U. S. power, the rising influence of China, and the uncertain future of the North Korean regime. The Obama administration’s new foreign policy guidelines are expected to meet such security challenges in the Asia-Pacific with more emphasis on reality, diplomacy and soft power rather than on ideology and hard power. The idea of the power of balance may be introduced to manage the U. S. relationship with China and other major powers as the U. S. seeks to maintain its leadership role and to increase its engagement in the region.

 

However, the concurrent development of the unprecedented global economic crisis in recent history and North Korean leadership problem do not bode well for the peace and security of the region. Under these grave circumstances, the ROK-US alliance should be provided a historic vision for the permanent peace regime, which will lead to the normalized relations and eventual reunification between the two Koreas. The necessity of the second phase of the Korean take-off following the first phase of the nation-building and democratization of the ROK warrants such a grand vision for the alliance, which would certainly be assisted by the responsible collaboration on the North Korean problem, of the interested parties such as the U. S. and China, and should also make possible more vigorous search for a multilateral security structure in the region. This trend will open the way for a gradual review of the existing hub-and-spokes system and the US-Japan alliance in particular.

 

In pursuing a smarter ROK-US alliance, values, culture and system will continue to play an important role, though many cases of the past alliance problems have arisen due to the ill defined remarks and populism of political leaders and the emotional release of the mass resistance, often influenced by misinformation and subversive elements. It is therefore advised to develop scrupulous ideas and vibrant opportunities, which will help achieve a healthier alliance, building upon the good records of narrowing the value gaps between the two allies and ROK’s emergence as an exemplary democratic and prosperous nation.

 

With regard to the nuclear problem, a comprehensive approach is recommended since the problem is tantamount to the very decayed state of the North Korean edifice. A ‘tough negotiation’ will produce any positive results, only when the strategy is well prepared in advance for North Korea’s future, since the leadership will be hypersensitive to any chances of its regime security being affected.

 

A smarter alliance with the vision for a permanent peace regime on the Peninsula should also require cautious handling of such issues as the strategic flexibility in consideration of ROK’s sovereignty and the alliance’s proper role, independent from the US-Japan alliance, so that the China’s intervention in any North Korean contingencies could be contained to the minimum, and U. S. role on the Peninsula should not be prejudiced. U. S. leadership will play a crucial role in this process so that constructive arrangements could be produced through cohesive and resolute coordination and consultations among the countries concerned.

 

In conclusion, it is emphasized that the Korean people should ascertain the strategic choice for their lives by hedging against many uncertainties and by grasping the opportunities with the firm vision for the permanent peace and security on the Peninsula. Six proposals, which will contribute to the realization of such a vision are presented. First, strategies and institutions should be reviewed to strengthen the present ROK-US alliance system. Second, China’s interest should be given a judicious and creative attention. Third, the effort to inculcate the rationale for the alliance on the ordinary people should be upgraded. Fourth, soft power should be exercised to enhance mutual respect for each ally’s values and culture. Fifth, the special features of the alliance arising from border sensitivities and power competition between China and Japan should be considered in such issues as command structure, MD and PSI. Sixth, the ROK’s contribution in the alliance relationship should be given a necessary review for a more proactive role of its defense forces furnished with self-reliant deterrence capabilities.

 

3. Military Aspect of the 21st Century ROK-U.S. Strategic Alliance : Tasks for Value-Based

   Alliance Partnership / LEE Sang-Hyun (Director of Security Studies Program, The Sejong Institute)

The international order in the 21st century is often said to be the complex network. In such an international order, Korea must pursue networked diplomacy and coalition with the nations with similar institutions and values. Network is a kind of an open order. If a state is excluded from the global network and stick to nationalistic view, state’s capabilities are constrained and can not benefit from the full advantage of globalization. Korea must belong to the leading coalition of the world order, which consists of nations with similar values and institutions. The United States is at the center of such coalition, and it is hard to imagine an alternative future without Korea-US alliance in the foreseeable future.

 

Korea is a valuable partner for the United States in building a value-based coalition. Korea can also benefit from upgraded ROK-US alliance in shaping a favorable international environment in Northeast Asia. In a fluid regional order of Northeast Asia, Korea can contain China through ROK-US-Japan collaboration, as well as check Japan through ROK-US-China cooperation. In either case, a stable ROK-US alliance is the cornerstone for Korea’s national strategy.

 

Korea and the United States agreed to pursue ‘21st century ROK-US strategic alliance’ at the summit meeting held at Camp David in April 2008. The vision of ROK-US strategic alliance comprises three pillars: First, a value-oriented alliance means that the ROK and the United States share fundamental values such as democracy, market economy, human rights, and so on, and both nations will cooperate to promote these values all over the world. Second, a trust-based alliance indicates that the ROK-U.S. alliance is more than a military alliance, expanding their horizon of cooperation into political, economic, social, and cultural areas, making it a very comprehensive one. Third, a peace-promoting alliance emphasizes teamwork to promote peace in regional and global human security issues—such as humanitarian relief in disasters, peace-keeping operations in conflict situations, and prevention of proliferation of WMD and terrorism.

 

In order to pursue such a strategic alliance, many tasks are required in military area. First, both ROK and the United States must work out a cooperative guideline after the dissolution of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command with the scheduled transfer of wartime operational control in 2012. Second, both nations must also have a working guideline for the strategic flexibility of the US Forces in Korea. Third, regarding the burden sharing for the cost of USFK, Korea is recommended to consider raising its contribution up to 50 percent as Washington hopes. Fourth, Korea is recommended to proactively examine the possibility of joining the Proliferation Security Initiative and Missile Defense system. Fifth, ROK and the United States should begin to discuss the contingency plan in case of emergency situations in North Korea. Sixth, Korea is recommended to support stability operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, not just because the United States might request, but as a commitment to fulfill its duty as a responsible member of international community. Finally, in order to enhance peace-promoting activities and to implement the vision of ‘Global Korea’, Korea must increase its share of ODA significantly.

 

In the incoming Obama adminstration, the vision of ROK-US strategic alliance will continue. In light of Democrat’s tradition of emphasizing American values such as democracy and human rights, the inauguration of the Obama administration can be both opportunity and challenge. Depending upon how Seoul and Washington views each other, the Obama-Lee team can find a good chance to expand the common grounds that upkeep a truly value-based alliance partnership.

 

4. Evolution of Korea-U.S. Economic Relations : The Shift from Economic Alliance to Value

   Alliance / ANN Choong Yong (Chair Professor, Graduate School of International Studies, Chung Ang  

    University/KOTRA Foreign Investment Ombudsman)

 

The bilateral economic relationship between the U.S. and Korea has evolved over time, having undergone several distinctive phases. Directly following World War II, Korea was liberated from the Japanese in 1945, but was soon after partitioned into two separate countries. The Republic of Korea (hereinafter “Korea”) was placed under U.S. military administration for three years until 1948 when she emerged as a democratic entity. Prior to the onset of the Korean War (1950-1953), Korea and the United States signed a mutual defense treaty in 1948 to protect the country from the looming communist threat prevalent in the Cold War era. The agrarian economy of war-torn Korea in the years after 1953 was able to survive primarily due to economic aid and grants provided by the United States of America.

 

In order to escape from a vicious circle of poverty, the Korean government initiated an outward-looking export promotion strategy – via the mobilization of an abundant and well-educated labor force – which was directly linked to the world’s largest open economy. Korean manufacturing first specialized in labor intensive goods including wigs, clothing, and footwear for export to the U.S., earning the nation precious foreign currency. In the early 1970s, as Korea launched a heavy and chemical-based industrialization strategy, the country financed capital intensive projects by borrowing heavily from U.S. financial institutions. In a nutshell, Korea’s economic linkages with the United States have been heavily asymmetric, largely dependent on the U.S. economy.

 

Leaping ahead several decades to after the Asian financial crisis, Korea has undergone a comprehensive restructuring of its economy which has begun to open via active participation in the rapidly globalizing global economy. Korea surprised the world by achieving a record trade surplus in 1998 – US$41.7 billion – just one year after being hit by the brunt of the financial crisis, and was subsequently able to graduate from the IMF-mandated reform program. A substantial part of Korea’s trade surplus was made feasible via the realization of a sizable trade imbalance vis-a-vis the U.S. market.

 

Korea, in recent years, has set as a national priority the pursuit of multi-track free trade agreements (FTAs) to better compete in the global economy. Of Korea’s efforts to join rapidly emerging regional economic alliances, the conclusion of the Korea-U.S. FTA represents the most significant one, not only for Korea, but also for the United States, as it represents the first trans-Pacific FTA between the world’s largest economy and one just beyond the top ten. Although not yet ratified, the Korea-U.S. FTA is testament to the two countries’ bilateral recognition of themselves as like-minded and reliable partners on the path to a mutually beneficial “economic alliance.”

 

In the last decade, East Asian economies have sought an “East Asian Identity” to avoid another Asia-wide financial crisis. To this end, ASEAN plus Three (China, Japan, and Korea) has launched a self-help financial cooperation scheme known as the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI). Due to China’s rapid growth, ASEAN plus Three has become the most dynamic economy in the world by sheer market force, taking advantage of its members’ geographical proximity and intra-regional division of labor. The alliance is likely to become a self-contained economic bloc despite the absence of a formal regional treaty. A new framework for regional cooperation including ASEAN plus Three is developing into East Asian regionalism. To illustrate, a web of intra-regional FTAs in East Asia has taken root. Given the area’s dynamic landscape, it should also be in U.S. interests to have closer relations with East Asian economies. Furthermore, because of an economic leadership rivalry between China and Japan, Korea can play an important role as facilitator to ensure that East Asian integration evolves into open regionalism. In this context, the Korea-U.S. FTA will play an important function to prevent this regionalism from fanning the flames of rivalry between Japan and China. 

 

Amid the global financial crisis and subsequent worldwide recession, the likes of which have not been seen since the mid-1930s, the administration of Barack Obama is likely to shift its foreign policy to one based on “smart power”, thus deviating substantially from the unilateral “hard power” stance of his predecessor. That is, the new administration will place far more importance on the global public good and basic human rights. The government of Lee Myung-Bak is also determined to strengthen U.S.-Korea bilateral relations to share fundamental common values on democratic political systems and a market economy, taking further steps to address the increase of official development assistance to poverty stricken-economies, sharing development experiences, climate change and green growth strategies. Korea’s development success story and the “soft power”-oriented U.S. could be effectively amalgamated to produce robust programs that ensure global public good. In the years to come, Korea and the United States must continue to nurture their traditional “security to economic alliance” into a “value-alliance” partnership in order to serve the ideals of the two countries as well as the mutual objective of creating a peaceful and prosperous East Asia, one that includes North Korea.

 

5. Comprehensive Value Alliance between Korea and the U.S. for the 21th Century

   / JUN Sang-In (Professor of Sociology, Seoul National University), YU Jae-Eui (Ph.D. Candidate in Polit

      ical Science, Korea University)

 

Over the past ten years, heated debates have been made in Korea over the mode of relationship between South Korea and the United States. The so-called ‘self-reliance diplomacy’ and ‘alliance diplomacy’ have been at odds with each other over which side would better serve the nation’s interests. The disparities between the two opposing views do not stem simply from different policy responses to the rapidly changing post-Cold War situation. Rather, they represent the divide in national politics and ideology, assessment of North Korea, and, more importantly, overall interpretation of the nature of U.S.-ROK relationship itself during the past 50 years.

 

This paper contends that the traditional mode of alliance between Korea and the United States now should be reshuffled for a more productive and sustainable future. It suggests a ‘comprehensive value alliance’ that goes far beyond the military or economic realms of mutual cooperations. Comprehensive value alliance can provide, first of all, a structural stability and durability for the relationship between the two nations. It also envisions the two countries’ relatively equal status and partnership. In addition, comprehensive value alliance can easily fit into the so-called ‘network international politics’ in the age of globalization. Furthermore, we can expect from the two countries’s value alliance the rise of new universal values in the era of post-ideology civilization. Finally, value alliance approach is able to go hand in hand with the increasing importance of ‘soft power’ in international relations in the 21th century.