External Relations of the Republic of Korea: the Present and the Past

EXTERNAL RELATIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA: THE PRESENT AND THE PAST Editors: Csaba Moldicz Amadea Bata-Balog BUDAPEST BUSINESS SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 2020 External Relations of the Republic of Korea: The Present and the Past Editors: Csaba Moldicz Amadea Bata-Balog EXTERNAL RELATIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA: THE PRESENT AND THE PAST Editors: Csaba Moldicz Amadea Bata-Balog EXTERNAL RELATIONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA: THE PRESENT AND THE PAST ISBN: 978-615-5607-86-8 © Budapest Business School © Authors Editors: Csaba Moldicz Amadea Bata-Balog Cover design and graphic: János Baksa All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without written consent from the publisher. Publisher: Budapest Business School, University of Applied Sciences Oriental Business and Innovation Center Book Series Supported by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank Printed in Hungary Contents About the Authors 9 Foreword 11 Viktor Eszterhai The Decreasing Strategic Opportunities for South Korea in the Light of the Changing Geoeconomic Relationship with China 13 1. The Rise of China and the Area of Economic Competition in East Asia 13 2. The Theory of Geoeconomics and the Geoeconomic Toolkit of the Countries 16 3. China and the Grand Geoeconomics Strategy: Reality or Myth? 17 4. Hypothesis 18 5. Methodology 19 6. The Economic Relations between China and South Korea 20 7. Case Study: Tensions on THAAD 22 8. Discussion 24 References 26 János Vándor Gravitation and Indiference in East Asia: Korea-Taiwan Coexistence in the Age of Uncertainty 31 1. Foreword 31 2. The Two Country’s Historical Past Compared 32 3. The Political Factors Afecting South Korea–Taiwan Relations 42 4. Economic and Trade Contacts 48 5. Conclusion: The Shy Partnership – Final Considerations 61 References 65 Péter Klemensits The Development Potential of the Philippines–South Korea Relations in Light of the Duterte Government’s “Independent” Foreign Policy 73 1. Introduction 73 2. The Philippines Foreign Policy 74 2.1. The Philippines in the International System 74 2.2. Key Elements of the “Independent” Foreign Policy 75 2.2.1. Opening to China Policy 75 2.2.2. The Transformation of the US–Philippines Alliance 76 2.3. Regional Partners 79 3. The Relations of the Philippines and South Korea 80 3.1. The Presence of Philippines in the Korean War 80 3.2. Political and Social Relations after the War 80 3.3. Two Diferent Models and Economic Imbalance 82 3.4. Tourism and Culture, Korean Wave in the Philippines 86 3.5. Strategic Partnership and Future Plans 87 4. Conclusion 89 References 91 István Torzsa The Normalization of Hungarian-South Korean Diplomatic Relations 95 1. Introduction 95 2. The Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Hungary and South Korea 96 2.1. The Normalization of Bilateral Relations 96 2.2. The Establishment of Hungarian–South Korean Chamber Representation 97 2.3. President Roh Tae-woo’s ‘Northern Policy’ 99 2.4. The Seoul Olympic Games as a Catalyst of the Negotiation Process 105 3. Talks on the Establishment of Bilateral Political Ties 110 3.1. The Success of the Secret Talks 112 3.2. Establishment of Permanent Representations 112 3.3. Bilateral Ties on the Upswing 114 3.4. North Korea Reacts to the Establishment of Hungarian–South Korean Diplomatic Relations 115 3.5. The Efect of Hungarian-South Korean Diplomatic Relations on Bilateral Ties 116 References 121 György Iván Neszmélyi The Development of the Bilateral Relations between Hungary and the Republic of Korea 125 1. Introduction 125 2. The Antecedents: Korea and Hungary before the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations 126 3. The Political Relations 128 3.1. The Partnership before the EU Membership of Hungary (2004) 129 3.2. Partnership after the EU Membership of Hungary 129 4. Trade and Investment Relations 132 5. Cultural, Education and S&T Relations 138 6. Relations in Civil Society 141 7. Conclusion 143 References 145 About the Authors Eszterhai, Viktor, PhD: Senior researcher, Pallas Athene Geopolitical Research Institute; Assistant Professor, Corvinus University of Budapest Klemensits, Péter, PhD: Senior researcher, PAGEO Research Institute, Pallas Athéné Domus Meriti Foundation Neszmélyi, György Iván, PhD. habil.: Professor, Budapest Business School, University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism Torzsa, István, Dr., PhD: Former ambassador of Hungary to the Republic of Korea Vándor, János, CSc.: Former ambassador, Retired professor of Budapest Business School, University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of International Management and Business Foreword The collected volume “External Relations of the Republic of Korea: The Present and The Past” emerged over the course of 2019 and 2020. The obvious occasion for the launch of this booklet was the anniversary of the 30 years diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and Hungary. The maybe less obvious reason for this volume is that Korea has grown into one of the most substantial investors in Hungary from the East Asian region. Moreover, when looking at the newest investment figures, the country was the most important investment partner of Hungary in 2019. Last year, around HUF 70 billion was invested by Korean firms in Hungary, thus increasing the aggregate stock of the Korean FDI to HUF 900 billion. These numbers clearly show how the significance of the Asian economic partners has intensified over the recent years, and also why it makes sense to put the economic cooperation with East Asian economies on the top of the Hungarian economic strategy agenda. This collected volume is included in the OBIC Book Series, where seven books have been published util now. These collected books cover several topics ranging from economic development strategies to concentrated works focusing on a single country. This new edition attempts to touch upon on some of the key problems and issues of Korea’s economic and political network. Emphasis is put on Korea’s relations with the neigh- boring countries and economies, while there are two papers that center on the development of the Hungarian economic and diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea. The authors whose research is presented in this volume are afliated with the Budapest Business School, the Faculty of International Management and Business, or have been afliated in some capacity to this faculty in the past, and or the research- ers of the Pallas Athene Geopolitical Research Institute. We are truly thankful for the support provided by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) and the Budapest Business School, without whose generosity and commitment to cooperation, this volume would not have been possible. Editors of the book: Csaba Moldicz, PhD Amadea Bata-Balog, PhD candidate 12 The Decreasing Strategic Opportunities for South Korea in the Light of the Changing Geoeconomic Relationship with China Viktor Eszterhai 1. The Rise of China and the Area of Economic Competition in East Asia Since the introduction of the “Reform and Opening Up” policy in 1978, and especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the foreign policy of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been characterized by a strong adaptation process toward the United States-led world order. This order, which was often understood via the “uni- polar moment” (Krauthammer, 1990/91) of the US, with a superior global military, economic, political, and cultural influence China has introduced market reforms with the aim of reorganizing the structure of the economy and has joined several international organizations (e.g. the World Bank in 1980, the Word Trade Organization in 2001). As a result of these important changes, China has become one of the world’s most significant economic centers. Nevertheless, China’s international political weight and activity has not been catching up with the country’s growing global economic status. The cautious behavior dictated by the country’s decade-long “low profile” type foreign policy was started by China’s last paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping (Yan, 2014) in the 1980s. The modest, rule-following foreign policy of a rising power, however, was not necessarily the natural state of afairs. After the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the Chinese governments became more confident and assertive. Starting in around the early 2010s, China made extensive eforts in the South China Sea, by building artificial features to extend its influence. A more visible change was represented by Xi Jinping, the new President of the Communist Party of China. President Xi’s speech at the World Economic Forum in January 2017 (Xi, 2017) laid down the country’s new ambition: to become a leading rule-setting member of the international community. In this context, the Belt and Road Initiative, the flagship ambition of the Chinese foreign policy is often portrayed as a vehicle for developing China’s economic statecraft and implementing its own conceptions of world order (Rolland, 2017; Zhang – Keith, 2017). In the context of shifting global power, it is not irrelevant to investigate how other countries see the rising power of China. Reacting to the changing strategic environment after the financial crisis, the United States began to use a dual approach toward China: on the surface promoting cooperation, while at the same time making concrete steps 14 to contain the East Asian country. The latter clearly can be seen in the Obama administration’s “Pivot to Asia” (2011) foreign policy concept or in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), the major aim of which was to create a deeply regulated economic zone in the Pacific region, excluding China (Zhao, 2012; Löfmann, 2016). Contrary to its predecessor, the Trump administration made it clear that the American government saw China mainly as an economic and strategic threat, and its further rise would not fit the American interests. In December 2017, the U.S.

Load more