Recalibrating South Korea's role and regional network in the Indo-Pacific: An analysis from a network-centered approach

Abstract

Despite China, Russia, and North Korea's attempts to change the status quo in East Asia, South Korea has remained disconnected from the network of regional countries working together to cope with these revisionists. This article adopts a network-centered approach to reveal how South Korea's regional network has narrowly focused on the bilateral ROK–US alliance to counter the North Korean threat. Although South Korea has expanded its role from junior partner to balancer and has often forged regional networks to respond to the changing balance of power, South Korea has ultimately utilized this role and network as leverage against North Korea to improve inter-Korean relations. Now, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration is attempting to reconfigure both its self-identified role, describing itself as a “global pivotal state,” and its regional strategy in the Indo-Pacific beyond the Korean Peninsula to align itself with the United States and other like-minded countries.