2025.08.28
On the morning of August 28, Lee Wang-hwi, Professor of Political Diplomacy at Asia University, and Chung Han-beom, Director of the Policy Research Center at the Korea National Defense University, both members of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee of the South Korean National Policy Planning Advisory Committee, visited the Grandview Institution.
The two professors analyzed the current foreign policy thinking and underlying considerations of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Constrained by domestic public opinion and opposition from conservative forces, the administration’s diplomatic policies and actions require a difficult balancing act between China and the United States. Recent visits to Japan and the United States, as well as the dispatch of former National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-sik to China as a special presidential envoy, reflect the administration’s strategic intentions and diplomatic significance. Moving forward, the Korean side intends to restore and deepen friendly and cooperative relations with China in a positive and prudent manner, following a step-by-step and strategic approach. Given the overall international situation and the security environment in Northeast Asia, Korea is expected to adjust its diplomatic approach beyond the “security-US, economy-China” framework, continuing economic cooperation with China while recognizing and leveraging China’s positive role in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
The National Policy Planning Advisory Committee is directly under the President and accountable to the Office of the President. It consists of six departments: Planning, Economy, Society, Political Administration, Foreign Affairs and Security, and other policy areas. The Foreign Affairs and Security Committee has 15 advisory members.
Representing Grandview were Ren Libo, President, Han Yuanzheng, Deputy Secretary-General, and the Head of the Department of External Cooperation.