The contents of this article are written with authoritative materials and personal opinions. The source of the literature has been marked at the end of the article, so please know.
On August 25, South Korea’s President Li Keqiang traveled to the United States to meet with Trump at the White House.The talks seem to be ordinary, but have profoundly affected South Korea’s post-Korean foreign policy.
Just a few hours before the talks began, Trump posted an Internet post, suspecting that South Korea was about to "get into trouble."
But after the talks, he changed his attitude, saying that it was a "misunderstanding" before, and also said that he fully supported Lee in Ming.What is even more remarkable is that Lee Jae-myung announced at that time that South Korea would no longer engage in the "Anmei Jingzhong" (relying on the United States for security and China for economy).
Saying this means that South Korea's foreign policy may change completely, almost overnight. The meeting between Trump and Lee Zai-ming mainly talked about the US-South Korea alliance, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and trade issues between the United States and South Korea.
Trump proposed at the meeting that he wants South Korea to transfer some land for US military bases in South Korea to the United States.According to the US Army Status Agreement, South Korea is free to build military bases for the United States, but the ownership of the land is still South Korea.
Currently, South Korea leases 62 ground-based military bases to the United States, the largest in the Hanflees camp in Pyeongchang, with a size of 14 square kilometers, cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and South Korea came out of ninety percent of the money.
This is the first time that the United States officially says that it will be a US military base in South Korea, and it is always the same as Trump after returning to the White House.
Trade is the focus of this meeting.The United States and South Korea reached a trade agreement in July, and South Korea promised to invest 350 billion dollars in the United States in exchange for the United States to reduce South Korea's tariffs from 25% to 15%.
Trump said at the meeting that he didn’t want the deal to just say it, and that South Korea would have to make most of the investment in the next three and a half years.
The money is mainly invested in shipbuilding, automobiles, chips, electronics and energy. Among them, the Korea-US shipbuilding project will cost 150 billion US dollars.
Trump shouted the slogan of "Make the U.S. shipbuilding industry strong again" and wanted to cooperate with South Korea to make the U.S. shipbuilding industry popular again.
Lee responded positively to Trump's request at the meeting, saying the South Korean government was willing to participate in the U.S. shipbuilding program and also guaranteed to use local U.S. workers to build ships.
In addition, South Korea has also agreed to buy US$100 billion in liquefied natural gas and plans to buy more than 100 Boeing aircraft from the United States. These orders can reduce the U.S. trade deficit and help the U.S. energy and aviation industries work harder.
On August 27, 2025, Lee said in a think tank speech in the United States:South Korea can no longer safely rely on the United States, the economy rely on China's old path。”
He also explained that before the United States desperately suppressed China and even blocked China, South Korea was indeed "An Mei Jing Zhong", but the international community has changed in recent years, the supply chain has been reorganized, and the United States has also made it clear that it wants to contain China, so South Korea can only make decisions within the policy framework of the United States.
This statement indicates that South Korea's foreign policy needs to change drastically. Over the years, "Anmei Jingzhong" has been South Korea's foreign policy, relying on the protection of the United States for security and the Chinese market for economy.
China has been South Korea's largest trading partner for more than 20 years, and in 2024 China-Korea trade amounted to 21% of South Korea's total foreign trade.This is equivalent to 1 yuan given by China for every 4 yuan South Korea earns.
The Korea Development Institute's August 2025 report said that if trade relations between China and South Korea deteriorate, South Korea's GDP could decrease by 1.2 percentage points, and the unemployment rate could rise to 4.5% in the short term.
Lee did so because the United States put a lot of pressure on him.The Trump administration has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on South Korean goods, which would deal a severe blow to South Korea's export economy.
In order to avoid this, South Korea agreed with the United States to reduce tariffs to 15 percent, but South Korea had to promise to invest $350 billion in the United States.
After all, South Korea exported almost $100 billion to the United States last year. If tariffs really rise by 25%, Korean enterprises will have to pay an extra $25 billion a year, and even if it drops to 15%, they will have to pay 15 billion.
South Korea 350 billion investment in exchange for a year less 10 billion tax, in fact, the United States took advantage of the big advantage.
In terms of security, the United States wants South Korea to increase its military spending to 5% of GDP. This means that South Korea will have to buy more U.S. armaments. Each F-35 costs US$150 million. If South Korea buys 60, it will have to pay US$9 billion. The maintenance fees are even more expensive.
At the same time, the cost of U.S. troops in South Korea has to rise to $5 billion a year, which are specific U.S. security demands to South Korea.
The current situation of Li Zaiming's government is very complicated. Regional security, economic cooperation, social stability and external pressure may affect the overall situation.
South Korean society's views on foreign policy have never been so different. This time, when Li Zai-ming visited the United States, only a few US officials came out to receive him, and no senior White House officials showed up. The South Korean media thought this was "Diplomatic humiliation "。
A survey by several major South Korean media shows that more than 52% of people oppose a complete tilt towards the United States and feel that it will harm national interests.
Korean people attach great importance to "independence", but the reality is that economic independence requires a strong industrial foundation and a broad market, and security independence requires high national defense investment and strategic depth.
In the first half of 2025, South Korea's defense budget only accounted for 2.8% of GDP, which is far from achieving independent defense. Korea Institute of Finance believes that increasing military expenditure in the short term will affect social welfare, education, medical care and other aspects, and may cause new social contradictions.
The Chinese side responded more calmly to Li Zaiming's remarks. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China and South Korea are important neighbors and should work together to maintain bilateral relations.
China has always been open to South Korea, but will not sacrifice its interests to maintain relations.If South Korea must cooperate with the United States to suppress China, China will take corresponding measures.
What is interesting is the reaction of the Korean business community.Top executives from Samsung and SK Group secretly visited China in late August, apparently to prepare for a possible deterioration in bilateral relations.
The actions of these large companies show that even if they choose to rely on the United States politically, they cannot be economically separated from China. This situation of "cold politics and hot economics" may last for a long time.
Li Ziming gave up the line of "relying on the United States for security and relying on China for economy" was actually forced by Trump. But this move was too risky,In the short term, it has stabilized the United States, and in the long term, whether it is economic or diplomatic, South Korea has to pay a small price.
References:
1. "Red Star Observation | Being publicly" attacked "and having a happy conversation, let's see how Lee Jae-myung turns things around in the White House" 2025-08-26 21:01 | Source: Red Star News
2. "Li Ziming starts a" boastful "mode to Trump! But it's useless. The 15% tariff remains unchanged for US$350 billion "2025-08-26 09:04| Source: First Finance and Economics