President Lee Jae-myung: the United States’ Perspective

By Henry Haggard

6.6.2025

Introduction

The most important result of the 3 June 2025 election from the United States’ (US) perspective is that South Korea can now fully engage with Washington on the full range of national security and economic issues. After six months of an acting president after Yoon Suk-yeol’s failed 3 December 2024 declaration of martial law and subsequent impeachment, South Korea-US relations can get back on track. Additionally, democratic rule is assured in a key ally and President Lee Jae-myung has established as one of his top priorities to limit the ability of the president to declare martial law. With authoritarianism making advances, this election will strengthen South Korea’s democratic path and could banish both the nostalgia for military rule and the ability of a president to backslide to authoritarianism. A more stable, solidly democratic South Korea is in the United States’ national interest.

What are the views of the US regarding Lee Jae-myung?

With the election of Lee Jae-myung, South Korea has chosen a president who has pledged, as a top priority, to continue to strengthen the relationship with the United States and focus his security and diplomatic policy on an “ironclad” relationship with the US. This focus, along with his pledge to continue to emphasise trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan, should help to build up a positive view in the US of the new president.

Lee has visited the US two times, very briefly, and remains relatively unknown to most policymakers in the United States. In past interviews, Lee has suggested that South Korea should “balance” its relationship with the US and its relationship with China and this, along with his limited international experience or exposure to foreign leaders, leaves some in Washington unconvinced Lee will partner well with the US. Lee has emphasised that while he will follow his predecessor Yoon Suk-yeol’s blueprint to foster good relations with the US and Japan, he will also seek better relations with China and attempt to engage with North Korea. It is unlikely his policy regarding China or North Korea will diverge significantly from past Korean presidents, but some in Washington believe Lee is willing to attempt to improve relations with China because Lee touts himself as willing to chart new policy directions if in the interest of South Korea.  North-South engagement seems unlikely in the aftermath of the 2024 signing of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between North Korea and Russia. The fact that Lee has named Ambassador Wi Sung-lac as his National Security Advisor will almost certainly improve the views of Lee in Washington. Wi is well known in Washington as a very strategic, reasonable policymaker. Wi is respected by many based on close cooperation over the years with many US diplomats and officials based on his time at the Korean Embassy in Washington, and as Assistant Secretary in charge of US policy at the Foreign Ministry, in addition to his time as North Korea negotiator.

Given few formal connections between Lee and his close aides in the Democratic Party and policymakers in Washington, there will be great attention paid to Lee’s first moves, starting with his personnel choices, his first call with President Trump, his initial speeches and his first entree on to the international stage, likely at the NATO Summit in late June. Beyond his introductory moves, visits to the UN General Assembly in September 2025 and hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in October 2025 in Korea, along with an eventual invite to Washington, could serve as opportunities for US counterparts to develop a more nuanced understanding of Lee while also offering Lee chances to articulate his approach to key foreign, security and trade policies.

What are the key short-term priorities for the South Korea-US relationship?

The month of June would challenge any Korean president – with possible G7 and NATO summit attendances, along with trade and burdensharing negotiations with the United States, the weeks ahead are fraught. They are even more consequential and formidable because Lee takes over the presidency with no transition period, and an extremely short campaign period; therefore, less policy preparation and coordination among his team and fewer personnel decisions are in place. To top it off, there will be National Assembly hearings for his cabinet. While the hearings will be relatively straightforward with a strong majority supporting Lee, the domestic calendar will take significant time and attention in his first weeks.

Therefore, the key priority for the Lee government will be to avoid missteps on the international stage, to establish a good working relationship with President Trump and the US administration and manage relations with South Korea’s sole Ally, while also getting his domestic team up and running. The priority for the relationship is to establish enough trust in the early days such that the Trump administration allows Lee time to get his officials in place who can serve as counterparts for the Trump team and negotiate effectively. Beyond the priority to build governmental ties and trust in order to manage the ongoing negotiations between the two allies, developing a personal connection with Trump could help Lee, South Korea and the relationship.  There is potential for a strong personal tie developing based perhaps on the fact that the two leaders have both faced numerous legal challenges and criminal trials they perceive as politically motivated.

The biggest policy challenge for Lee will be to convince Trump and his administration that South Korea is not seeking to find any “balance” between the US and China but that South Korea remains fully committed to the primacy of the relationship with the United States. He could do this by highlighting areas of alignment and opportunities for shared leadership in sectors such as nuclear power and shipbuilding.

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