NEW LEADER IN S. KOREA PROMISES HARD LINE ON NORTH

Yoon Suk-yeol, the new president of South Korea, was sworn into office in Seoul on Tuesday, using his inaugural speech to make promises to heal political and economic divides at home, to fight for international norms and to offer a package of economic incentives to North Korea.

Yoon is taking office at a time when conflict in Ukraine and democratic backsliding around the world have become pressing international issues. He must also contend with an escalating nuclear threat from North Korea and growing friction between the United States and China, two great powers with which South Korea’s diplomatic and economic interests are deeply intertwined.

Yoon vowed to meet those challenges by standing up for values like “freedom” and “liberal democracy.”

“We, as global citizens, must make a stand against any attempt that aims to take our freedom away, abuse human rights or destroy peace,” he said during his inauguration ceremony, held on the lawn of the National Assembly.

Yoon brings conservatives back to the center stage of South Korean diplomacy, signaling a directional shift in Seoul’s policy on North Korea. His foreign policy team has emphasized enforcing sanctions against the North, in contrast to outgoing President Moon Jaein, who prioritized improving inter-Korean ties.

Under Moon, South Korea had avoided “taking sides” in the great-power competition between the United States, South Korea’s only military ally, and China, its largest trading partner. But Yoon has vowed to align his country more closely with Washington while also mending fractured ties with Japan.

On Tuesday, Yoon said South Korea was ready to “present an audacious plan that will vastly strengthen North Korea’s economy and improve the quality of life for its people.” He added that such a move would be possible only “if North Korea genuinely embarks on a process to complete denuclearization.”

Yoon, 61, won the March 9 election with a razor-thin margin against his rival, Lee Jae-myung. He faces myriad challenges at home, like a parliament controlled by the opposition and a society rife with political tribalism. Young voters remain disgruntled by deepening inequality and sky-high housing prices.

During the campaign, Yoon was accused of pandering to widespread sentiment against China and promised to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Women, a move that helped him win votes from young men who say the country has been overrun by angry feminists.