dailies-editorials (2)

(EDITORIAL from Korea Times on Dec. 15)

Making tough decision

Korea won't join diplomatic boycott of Olympics

President Moon Jae-in has decided not to join the U.S.'s diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights abuses in China. Making such a decision was not easy, but he has made it clear that Seoul would send an official delegation to the Games.

"The South Korean government is not considering a boycott," Moon said at a joint press conference in Canberra, Monday, after holding a summit with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. He added that Korea has not been asked by the U.S. or any other country to join the boycott.

In other words, he made the decision independently, possibly based on the principle of respecting reciprocity and maximizing Korea's national interest. Moon must have felt the need to reciprocate China's dispatch of its delegation led by a high-ranking official of the Chinese Communist Party to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Korea's ties with China, its largest trading partner, are also a key factor affecting Moon's decision. "South Korea makes its alliance with the U.S. the foundation of its diplomacy and national security, but in economic terms, its relationship with China is also very important," Moon said. There is no doubt that Korea has long depended on the U.S. for security, while relying on Beijing for economic growth.

However, Seoul is in a dilemma because it is sandwiched between the two superpowers. It has already begun to feel growing pressure to choose between Washington and Beijing. Korea cannot sacrifice its security alliance with the U.S. for the sake of its economic partnership with China. Nor can the country compromise its economic interest for its security.

Sitting on the fence is also tricky. Korea has so far tried to strike a balance between the U.S. and China. But it will get more difficult, and almost impossible, to keep a balancing act because Washington is doubling down on containing China in the Indo-Pacific region. The U.S. has taken issue with China's human rights violations in Xinjiang, its suppression of freedom in Hong Kong, its threat to Taiwan, and its territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The Biden administration has put the rights issue at the center of its foreign policy to put more pressure on Beijing.

The U.S.'s Olympic boycott could be seen as part of its efforts to counter China's growing influence on the international stage. Upon announcing the diplomatic boycott, President Biden hosted the Summit of Democracy to form a united international front against autocratic countries such as China and Russia. Biden apparently wants the world's democracies to join in the boycott as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have done.

The U.S. might be displeased with Moon's decision against the boycott although it officially said it is up to each government to make its own decision on the matter. The Moon administration needs to give a sufficient explanation about its decision, otherwise it may cause misunderstanding and a diplomatic row between the two countries.

Moon should also take a realistic and practical approach to his push to formally declare an end to the Korean War to help improve inter-Korean ties and resume the stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington. The U.S. boycott and its new sanctions against North Korea have dimmed the prospects for Moon's efforts to promote his peace initiative by taking advantage of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

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