Will Yin Xiyue press the "restart button" when he officially takes office as South Korean president?

　　China News Service, Beijing, May 10 (Zhang Aolin) On May 10, Yin Xiyue officially took office as President of South Korea.

Due to the obvious difference in political philosophy from Moon Jae-in, who just left office, Yin Xiyue's inauguration has been described by the outside world as a restart of South Korea's national strategy.

Data map: South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue.

- economic restart

　　"The Republic of Korea leaps forward again and lives a better life together", this is the vision of the new government announced by the Korean Presidential Handover Committee.

The vision, the committee said, reflected the "mission of the times" and "national demands".

　　Under the national government goals, the handover committee also listed 110 specific national affairs issues.

Among them, the first task is to help small and medium-sized enterprises in South Korea to restore sales to the level before the new crown epidemic, in order to restore the competitiveness of the regional business district.

　　In an interview with Chinanews.com, Su Hao, director of the Center for Strategic and Peace Studies at China Foreign Affairs University, believes that in terms of economic policy, Yin Xiyue may adopt a liberal market economy management model, which is relatively loose.

At the same time, he will start with small and medium-sized enterprises that have been hit hard by the epidemic to stimulate economic recovery.

　　In addition, "helping young people get rid of housing, employment, education and other difficulties", "becoming a superpower in science and technology" and "building an innovative financial system" were also included in the main topics.

On April 22, the Seoul Metropolitan Government of South Korea announced the termination of operation of the temporary nucleic acid testing point in Seoul Plaza, and the demolition work began at 12 noon that day.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Xu

　　——Restart of

　　Restarting the economy also needs to take into account the balance of epidemic prevention policies.

　　The Moon Jae-in government carried out strict control in the early stage of the new crown epidemic, and then "coexisted with the epidemic", and then tightened epidemic prevention. Various measures have been mixed.

　　As the overall epidemic situation in South Korea is currently slowing down.

Su Hao believes that as a "political amateur", Yin Xiyue lacks relevant experience in epidemic prevention and control, and did not propose more specific policies during the general election.

Overall, if the rebound of the epidemic is not very serious, Yin Xiyue may still adopt a relatively loose epidemic prevention method.

　　However, the latest data on May 8 showed that more than 40,000 new cases were confirmed in South Korea that day, the first increase from a week ago since the turning point of the epidemic at the end of March.

Although it is not yet certain that the epidemic situation in South Korea has rebounded, some Korean media pointed out that this also sounded the alarm for Yin Xiyue's epidemic prevention policy after taking office.

　　The loose anti-epidemic measures are aimed at "restarting the economy", but this may lead to a contradictory situation - "after the epidemic prevention measures are relaxed, the epidemic will spread, which in turn will hinder the economy", Su Hao said, this may be a An important challenge that Yin Xiyue will face after taking office.

Data map: US-South Korea military exercises.

- Foreign policy restart

　　"As a conservative politician, Yin Xiyue may further strengthen cooperation with the United States in military security after taking office, and may rely more on the United States for political security." Su Hao pointed out.

　　Since the election, Yin Xiyue has been playing the "pro-US" card - such as proposing to strengthen the US-Japan-South Korea alliance, and planning to join the Five Eyes Alliance and the US-Japan-India-Australia "Quad Security Dialogue" mechanism (QUAD) in the future.

　　After winning the election, the South Korea-US policy consultation delegation that Yin Xiyue sent to the United States further stated that Yin Xiyue hopes to elevate South Korea-US relations to a higher level of comprehensive strategic alliance.

　　Su Hao analyzed that in the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the United States has increased the strengthening of the so-called Indo-Pacific allied relations, and at the same time is actively preparing for "QUAD+", and the first choice for this "+" is South Korea.

At present, South Korea is moving in the direction guided by the United States.

Data map: South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue.

　　"This will be a strategic choice, and it will also be his biggest challenge after taking office." Su Hao emphasized.

　　Regarding the relationship between South Korea and Japan, which is still at a low point, Su Hao believes that at the request of the United States, both South Korea and Japan are currently conducting some coordination.

After Yin Xiyue came to power, he may continue the political tradition of conservatives, further coordinate the relationship between South Korea and Japan, and with the traction of the United States, the relationship between the two countries may recover.

　　Regarding the relationship between China and South Korea, Yin Xiyue said after winning the election that the strengthening of cooperation between South Korea and China will help the two countries achieve their own development and benefit the two peoples, and will also contribute to peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

The ROK side is willing to intensify high-level exchanges with the Chinese side, enhance mutual trust, promote people-to-people friendship, and promote the development of ROK-China relations to a higher level.

　　Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that China and South Korea are inseparable neighbors and important partners that cannot be separated from each other.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK. Over the past 30 years, the rapid development of China-ROK relations has brought tangible benefits to the two countries and peoples, and made positive contributions to the promotion of regional peace and development.

China is willing to make joint efforts with the ROK to take the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations and better benefit the two peoples.

(Finish)