In his inauguration speech, Lee Jae-myung, South Korea’s newly elected president, pledged to strengthen the nation’s alliance with the United States while pursuing a pragmatic relationship with China.

The new South Korean administration will likely make efforts to buy time for U.S. trade talks, as it studies the negotiations of bigger neighbours Japan and China for leverage, according to sources familiar with the ruling party's thinking.

American divisions over politics look positively civil compared to the polarization that has gripped South Korea over the last few years. During the 2022 elections, Yoon Suk-yeol of the