Seoul isn't drifting away from Washington

A particular narrative has taken hold in Washington policy circles: that Korea’s current government and the ruling party represents an ideological departure from the U.S.-Korea alliance, one that is more sympathetic to Beijing than to its treaty ally across the Pacific.

A recent Wall Street Journal article criticizing the Lee Jae Myung administration as acting “far-left.” At a recent congressional hearing in which Rep.

Darrell Issa called out the Korean government for “oppressing” American companies operating in the country.

These are examples of this worrisome trend.

Understanding what is actually happening in Seoul matters because misdiagnosis leads to bad policies — such as threatening to withdraw American troops from the Korean Peninsula or restricting tech cooperation — that undermine alliance credibility.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea's history is complicated.

It is true that many of its leading figures came of age in the student protest movements during the 1980s, which were critical of American military presence and its passivity in condemning the country ...