South Korea to join US-led Indo-Pacific economic initiative

President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden / Korea Times file

Yoon, Biden to hold 90-minute summit

By Kang Seung-woo

South Korea has decided to participate in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), promoted by the United States to counter China's influence in the region, according to the presidential office, Wednesday.

"President Yoon plans to attend a summit virtually for the launch of the trade and economic initiative in Japan, May 24," Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, said in a press briefing, adding that there are eight countries that have joined the trade and economic initiative.

The decision came two days before U.S. President Joe Biden's arrival in Seoul, Friday, for a three-day trip, and the presidential office is mulling an official announcement of its intention to join the IPEF and support its launch during the Yoon-Biden summit, scheduled for Saturday.

The Biden administration unveiled the IPEF initiative during the East Asia Summit (EAS) last October as a regional device encompassing major Indo-Pacific countries, saying that it will define shared objectives around trade facilitation, standards for the digital economy and technology, supply chain resiliency, decarbonization and clean energy, infrastructure, worker standards and other areas of shared interest.

Participation in the IPEF is expected to help South Korea lead global discussions in critical sectors, such as the digital economy, carbon neutrality and clean energy.

The South Korean government has been positively considering joining the envisaged initiative, holding discussions with relevant countries, and the IPEF has gained momentum as it is likely to be launched during Biden's trip to Japan, scheduled for May 22 to 24.

Yoon almost made the nation's IPEF participation official in his speech to the National Assembly, Monday, pledging to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation on global supply chains through the IPEF when he meets with Biden this week.

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Foreign Minister Park Jin also said, the following day, that the IPEF is expected to feature high on the summit agenda, adding that the launch of the initiative is likely to be decided in Japan.

However, the government is already bracing for a possible backlash from China, which claims that the initiative is aimed at countering Beijing by excluding the country from global supply chains and rearranging them.

"I think that China is unhappy about the IPEF," Park said during a meeting of the Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, implying that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi opposed the initiative during their video call, Monday.

According to Chinese reports, Wang told Park that the two sides must oppose moves to decouple economically and ensure that the world's supply chains remain stable and smooth.

Although the Yoon administration stresses that South Korea's participation in the IPEF is a decision based on national interests and is not intended to contain China, the opposition party is expressing concerns about possible diplomatic and economic retaliation. China is South Korea's largest trading partner.

In 2016, the South Korean government approved the deployment of a U.S. THAAD battery on the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese government responded by carrying out an economic retaliation campaign by imposing unofficial boycotts on South Korean products and enforcing tourism restrictions.

But Seoul tried to assuage Beijing's concerns.

"The IPEF is not aimed at forcing countries to decouple from China," Kim said.

In addition, even if the IPEF is launched, uncertainty still lingers over its membership makeup and to what extent each member can abide by its tough rules and standards, according to diplomatic observers, as some Southeast Asian nations have state-led economic practices that may be out of tune with the IPEF.

Meanwhile, the presidential office announced the specific schedule of the Yoon-Biden summit.

According to Kim, the two heads of state will sit down with each other for 90 minutes at the presidential office in Yongsan District, which was relocated from Cheong Wa Dae.

"The two leaders are expected to discuss ways to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, enhance the allies' economic security and regional cooperation," Kim said.

Ahead of the summit, Biden will make a visit to Seoul National Cemetery. A joint press conference and an official dinner will be held following the summit, he added.

According to the presidential office, Yoon and Biden are scheduled to jointly participate in an event every day during the U.S. leader's three-day stay. While in South Korea, Biden is also expected to visit Samsung Electronics' chip fabrication facility in Pyeongtaek, with Yoon likely to accompany him.

On the occasion of Biden's visit, North Korea is speculated to conduct a seventh nuclear test, but Kim said Pyongyang could be preparing to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile.

In case the North undertakes a provocative act during Biden's visit, the South and the U.S. have prepared a "plan B" to ensure the combined defense posture between the two countries, Kim said without elaborating.