Comment SEOUL — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met leaders of Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan on her closely watched tour this week — but not the South Korean president. The official reason: He was on layover. Shortly before Pelosi (D-Calif.) arrived late Wednesday, Speaker Yoon Suk-yeol attended a theater performance in Seoul and they socialized over dinner and drinks with the actors. On Thursday, as Pelosi met with senior South Korean lawmakers, those photos went viral on social media. Yun’s decision prompted South Korea’s presidential office to downplay accusations that he avoided a meeting with Pelosi in an effort to appease China, as South Korea explores growing competition between its biggest trading partner and the United States, the its biggest ally in security matters. The novice politician, who won the presidency by the narrowest margin ever in South Korea, is facing a plummeting approval rating less than three months after taking office. He vowed to make his country a “global central state” and a geopolitical power. But his conspicuous absence from the world stage has sparked critics, who have accused the conservative South Korean president of deliberately shielding Pelosi from his concerns about retaliation from Beijing. Her controversial visit to Taiwan escalated tensions between the self-ruled island and Beijing. The Biden visit is testing South Korea’s new president, a foreign policy novice Yoon’s office said he canceled his summer travel plans and opted for a stay in Seoul to plan future political activities and rest at home. Yoon’s spokesman, Choi Young-bum, said the president’s summer vacation was scheduled before Pelosi’s trip to Asia and that Yoon attended the play before Pelosi’s plane arrived. According to Choi, Yoon said he was not available to meet Pelosi, who flew to South Korea that evening. “I have received questions about whether the president avoided meeting with the House speaker because he was wary of China,” Choi said. “All these things are decided based on a thorough consideration of the national interest of our country.” He also dismissed a reporter’s question suggesting that Yoon’s unavailability signaled a shift in Seoul’s alignment amid the US-China rivalry, calling the question “exaggeration.” As Emhoff visits South Korea, gender and LGBTQ issues come to the fore Instead of a face-to-face meeting, the South Korean president and Pelosi spoke by phone late Thursday about strengthening the bilateral alliance and cooperation on regional security issues, according to a statement from Yun’s office. Yun, who took office in May, has pledged to “rebuild” the US-South Korea alliance, which he said had deteriorated under outgoing liberal President Moon Jae-in. The Moon administration has sought to work with North Korea’s allies, particularly China, to help broker a peace deal with Pyongyang. While Yoon promised a stronger political stance for Beijing, South Korea is still walking a fine line. South Korea’s right-wing Chosun Ilbo newspaper published an editorial titled “Yun’s avoidance of meeting with Pelosi may send wrong messages to US, China.” The newspaper warned the South Korean government that a “condescending stance” toward China could change geopolitical relations. Pelosi is scheduled to fly to Japan late Thursday after visiting the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between South and North Korea. In their phone conversation, Yun called her visit to the border region “a sign of strong deterrence against North Korea,” his presidential office said. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to meet with Pelosi on Friday on the final stop of her trip.
