The US-South Korea Alliance at 70th Anniversary

Credits: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Published May 1, 2023

By Jongsoo Lee

The alliance between the United States and South Korea (Republic of Korea) is a cornerstone of the US security architecture in the Indo-Pacific and, increasingly, in the world. Both the United States and South Korea must do all they can to strengthen this vital alliance.

As this year marks the 70th anniversary of the alliance, with an upcoming state visit of President Yoon Suk Yeol to Washington later this month, it is important to appreciate the historical significance of the alliance.

For South Korea, the alliance has been the guarantor of the nation’s security and the bedrock of the nation’s economic development and prosperity since the Korean War. For centuries, Korea had been under the suzerainty of China and its fate had been tied to that of its Chinese overlords. As the Chinese empire declined in the late 19th century and collapsed in early 20th century, so did the old dynastic rule in Korea.

As Korea fell under Japanese colonial rule for 36 years, it was the United States that played the greatest role in liberating Korea from Tokyo’s grip at the end of World War II. And when communist forces overran South Korea in 1950 in the Korean War after Korea’s division, the United States spearheaded the United Nations forces dispatched to repel the invasion. Though the UN forces failed to reunify Korea, they preserved the territorial integrity of South Korea in large measure.

The US-ROK alliance, cemented in 1953 at the end of the Korean War, marked a historic shift in Korea’s fate. For the first time in Korea’s history, a Western democratic Great Power came to be the principal ally and security guarantor of a Korean state. With its fate tied to the United States, South Korea came to experience miraculous economic development and an impressive transformation into a mature industrialized democracy.

For the United States, the US-ROK alliance has been indispensable in preserving and defending the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific since the Korean War.

As the Indo-Pacific now contributes the largest share of the global population and the global economy, it is arguably the most important region of the world for US national security and prosperity. However, the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific is under a grave threat posed by Beijing’s expansionism and North Korea’s nuclear proliferation.

Although defending the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific is crucial for US national security and prosperity, there is no NATO-like collective security mechanism in the Indo-Pacific to stem forces of autocracy. In the absence of a collective security mechanism, what Washington has put together is an uneven patchwork of bilateral alliances and cooperative arrangements with individual countries. In this less than optimal security architecture, the linchpin is the US-ROK alliance, along with the US-Japan alliance.

Other than the US-Japan alliance and the US-Australia alliance, the US-ROK alliance has been the only enduring bilateral alliance for Washington in the Indo-Pacific. Other US alliances in the Indo-Pacific such as SEATO did not endure, and the US has only a few reliable allies in the Indo-Pacific, as numerous Indo-Pacific nations have been neutral or leaning towards Beijing in the standoff between Washington and Beijing.

The geopolitical and geostrategic importance of the Korean peninsula cannot be emphasized enough. Located within a close proximity between Beijing, Tokyo and Vladivostok and with substantial US forces stationed in Japan and South Korea, it is the only place in the world where the national security and interest of China, Japan, Russia and the United States – four of the world’s greatest powers – directly intersect in a visceral way.

South Korea’s importance as a key ally of the United States has been demonstrated over the decades since 1953. In the Vietnam War, for example, Seoul sent massive numbers of troops to fight in Vietnam alongside US troops.

Today, South Korea is increasingly a key partner of the US in defending the rules-based order around the world. A leading trading nation with an export-based economy heavily dependent on import of energy and raw materials from around the world, South Korea’s security and prosperity depend on the integrity of the rules-based international order, including the freedom of navigation in the high seas where its exports and imports are in transit.

Seoul’s importance to Washington has increased even more in recent years, as South Korea has become one of the largest advanced industrialized democracies in the world with a global leadership in key strategic industries such as semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries. With a military rated as the 6th most powerful in the world, South Korea today has become a major arms exporter, with its military hardware supplying nations including Poland and Australia. Seoul now has troops stationed in nations including the UAE and is a regular contributor to peacekeeping activities around the world.

All this has resulted in a major upgrade of the US-ROK alliance, with the alliance now blossoming into an economic and technological alliance in addition to the military alliance. Last year, South Korea became the largest foreign direct investor in the US, with Korean firms investing billions of dollars for building factories in US states ranging from Georgia to Ohio to Texas.

Given all these developments, South Korea today is undoubtedly among the most pivotal key allies of the US, and the US-ROK alliance has arguably become as important to Washington as the US-Japan alliance.

Considering the seminal importance of the US-ROK alliance, what can be done to protect and further enhance the alliance?

For its part, Washington must refrain from taking measures that damage the national image of the US and turn South Korean public opinion against the US. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) recently enacted by the US is an example of such measures, as it contains provisions favoring electric vehicles made in the US over those made overseas. Such discriminatory measures that are seen as promoting US economic interests at the expense of the interests of US allies including South Korea do much more harm than good to the US national interest. Such measures must be avoided if the US were to protect its crucial alliances with key partners such as South Korea.

Washington must bear in mind that China is keen to capitalize on tensions between the US and its key allies such as Seoul. Washington must realize that damages to its alliance with Seoul can push Seoul closer to Beijing. Washington must keep in mind that, if Seoul were to move into Beijing’s orbit, that would deal a devastating blow to US credibility and leadership in the Indo-Pacific and indeed around the world.

For its part, Seoul must recognize that its future survival and prosperity hinge on the alliance with the US and therefore strengthen its ties with Washington. While South Korea needs to maintain good relations with China, its biggest trading partner and a key stakeholder in addressing challenges posed by North Korea, Seoul must guard against Beijing’s attempts to drive a wedge between Seoul and Washington. Seoul must realize that, if it allows its relationship with Washington to deteriorate excessively, it can fall back under Beijing’s suzerainty as it used to be for centuries.

Clearly, the US-ROK alliance, now in its 70th anniversary year, is critical to the national interest of both nations and is among the cornerstones of the rules-based international order. Both Washington and Seoul would be wise to refrain from taking steps that damage this alliance, and they would be wise to guard against attempts by third parties such as Beijing to undermine this alliance. Under wise stewardship, this key alliance will help guarantee continued security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and around the world for many years to come.

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James Jongsoo Lee is Senior Managing Director at Brock Securities and Center Associate at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies.  He is also Adjunct Fellow at the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum and Contributing Editor at The Diplomat.  He can be followed on Twitter at @jameslee004.

This piece was originally published in The National Interest on April 19, 2023.

The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Pacific Council.