Former US Ambassadors to Korea Counter WSJ Column on Lee Jae-myung Government

Former US Ambassadors to South Korea, Philip Goldberg and Kathleen Stephens, on Thursday (local time) refuted a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal that characterized the Lee Jae-myung government as 'hard-left' and leaning towards China.

Philip Goldberg, who served as ambassador from 2022 to 2025, stated at a seminar hosted by the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) in Washington D.C. that "progressive governments (in Korea) tend to be reflexively less pro-American in some ways regarding our international policies."

However, he questioned the origin of claims that President Lee Jae-myung is "some kind of radical communist," saying, "I've met him, and I didn't get that impression. He is a very good politician. That was once again demonstrated by yesterday's election results (the Democratic Party's victory in local elections)."

Goldberg added, "He understands the value of the alliance with the United States, especially the US nuclear umbrella. He has tried to cooperate with President Trump on very difficult issues like trade and investment," and stated he "disagrees" with assessments like the WSJ op-ed.

Kathleen Stephens, ambassador from 2008 to 2011, noted that "bipartisan support for the ROK-US alliance continues to grow" in South Korean public opinion polls, and "President Lee knows that the majority of the Korean people want a strong ROK-US relationship."

Stephens argued that "he also knows there is a difference between anti-Americanism and opposition to specific policies," and that "'Anti-Americanism' sounds very anachronistic when talking about Korean politics today."

The WSJ published an op-ed on the 1st by two conservative figures, listing events such as the special prosecutor's search and seizure at Osan Air Base, jointly used by the South Korean and US militaries, the investigation into Coupang's personal information leak, and controversy over then-Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young's remarks about disclosing US-ROK shared classified information, suggesting growing threats to the US-ROK alliance.

In relation to this, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a House hearing the previous day, "In democratic countries, sometimes you elect leaders who are more favorable to American interests, as in the case of Japan, and sometimes you elect leaders with different perspectives. That is a unique aspect of dealing with democratic countries."

Goldberg expressed the view that as South Korea finds it difficult to maintain a policy of "Anmi-gyeongjung" (安美經中 - security with the US, economy with China), the previous Yoon Suk-yeol administration took a hard line against China, while the Lee Jae-myung government seeks more active diplomacy with China. He described this as "closer to re-balancing rather than a full-fledged pro-China policy, as some in Washington see it."

Regarding the transfer of wartime operational control, Stephens said, "If there is a change, how that change is managed is important. I think it can be managed well. Perhaps now is the right time," but added that it must be underpinned by "trust and confidence in each other's commitments."