ABSTRACT
As the great power competition between the US and China intensifies, South Korea’s foreign policy priority is not fully compatible with the US’s grander strategic motivation of building a networked security architecture such as Quad plus. Joining “Quad Plus” could present a geopolitical challenge to Seoul, as the grouping signals a resolve among Indo-Pacific democracies to balance China. For now, the Moon Jae-in administration of South Korea prefers to foster a more inclusive regional architecture that accommodates countries in the region to hedge the risk of great power decoupling and disengagement. Meanwhile, South Korea is willing to deepen the US–ROK alliance cooperation and support the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy by channelling it through its implementation of the New Southern Policy. Hence, South Korea would support various campaigns led by the “Quad Plus” platform at the working level while balking to be formalized.
