Park Geun-hye Administration’s Foreign Policy: Assessment and Tasks is designed with the aim to help Park Geun-hye’s administration to successfully conclude its term. This study categorized the government’s foreign policy into seven different areas, and reviewed the purpose, goal and process of each policy area, evaluated the achievements and problems that have surfaced from them, and proposed measures for policy improvement.

The first three chapters consist of the three axes of trustpolitik that the Park administration set as its fundamental principle: the inter-Korean trust-building process of the Korean Peninsula, Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative in Northeast Asia, and the broadened Eurasia Initiative. Chapters 4 and 5 include topics on ROK-U.S. alliance and measures to achieve balanced diplomacy in ROK-China cooperation, and on Korea’s policy on Japan and measures for ROK-China-Japan trilateral cooperation, respectively. In the functional aspect, the Park Geun-hye administration underlined middle-power diplomacy and public diplomacy, and as such, the final two chapters deal with them.

Overall, while it may be a little early to assess the Park administration’s foreign policy, it seems that it has failed to make a substantial achievement due to various factors, including the strengthened U.S. containment against China’s rapid rise, Japan’s Abe government’s strategy to become a ‘normal country’ and its diplomacy of bandwagoning on the U.S., and North Korea’s adventurous and adamant nuclear and missile development among others. Dividing the Park administration’s foreign policy into sub-categories, the book objectively reviews the rationality and feasibility of the policies in each area, critically analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the process of policy execution, and suggests measures for policy improvement. Therefore, it is expected that this text will serve as a useful reference in establishing and implementing South Korean government’s foreign policy in the future.

​Volume No.: 2017-4

Publisher: The Sejong Institute

Publication Date: March 15, 2017

Paperback: 292 Pages