Since President Lee Jae Myung entered office in June 2025, I have mostly complimented his administration’s foreign policy. Alas, the wheels are coming off. Before we get to the current situation — with Seoul flailing on U.S., Ukraine and North Korea issues — let’s review the trajectory until now. When Lee took office, he faced a difficult diplomatic environment. Above all, Seoul was under competing pressures from Washington and Beijing. The U.S. under President Donald Trump was increasingly demanding of allies — including Seoul — in the realms of security and economics. Meanwhile China remained a tricky economic partner for South Korean industry and a regional security actor with inscrutable goals on North Korea. Upgrading other bilateral relations was important, both per se and as means for creating more autonomy vis-à-vis the U.S. and China. To this end, Seoul continued to enhance strategic partnerships — e.g., with Japan, Europe, Australia, Singapore and Canada — while emphasizing relations with Global South states with significant commercial or resource profiles. A