Expect a nuanced approach to foreign policy as President Lee Jae-myung attempts to pull relations with Beijing back from their 'lowest ebb' Six months ago, South Korea teetered on the brink of authoritarian regression.

The debilitating political vacuum that has reigned in Seoul since South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment on December 14 has finally ended. On June 3, Lee Jae-myung won South Korea’s presidential election by a decisive margin.

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