![[Asia Centre in the medias] Korea's Pragmatic Diplomacy partnership under growing demand in uncertain world • Arnaud Leveau, PhD](https://asiacentre.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/AL_Arirang.png "[Asia Centre in the medias] Korea’s Pragmatic Diplomacy partnership under growing demand in uncertain world • Arnaud Leveau, PhD")
Korea’s Pragmatic Diplomacy
Arnaud Leveau, PhD was interviewed by Oh Soo-young for Arirang News last thursday. Watch their video about Korea’s Pragmatic Diplomacy partnership here.
One year into President Lee Jae Myung’s pragmatic diplomacy, there is growing demand for Korea’s partnership in an increasingly divided world. That’s according to Arnaud Leveau, President of Paris-based Asia Centre.
Under the Lee Administration, pragmatic diplomacy has meant pursuing national interests through practical cooperation, while broadening Korea’s diplomatic options in an increasingly fragmented world.
“The keyword is adaptation. President Lee inherited a very difficult international environment. The rivalry between the United States and China continues to intensify. Conflict in Europe, like in Ukraine and in the Middle East, Iran, and the Red Sea, are affecting global stability.”
Over the past year, Seoul has kept close coordination with Washington and Tokyo, while expanding engagement with Europe, India, Africa and other emerging partners.
Leveau says that makes Korea valuable to countries looking for more flexible forms of cooperation.
“Middle powers do not want to be forced into binary choices. They want to maintain strong alliances while preserving enough autonomy to defend their own interests. The second challenge is economic security. For decades, globalization was mostly about efficiency. Today, it’s about resilience… Many countries today are looking for alternatives to rigid bloc politics. They want flexible partnerships focused on practical cooperation, and Korea is particularly well positioned to play this role.”
President Lee made his diplomatic debut at last year’s Group of Seven summit in Canada soon after taking office, and has also been invited this year to the leaders’ meeting in France.
With that, Leveau says Korea will be expected to bring more than symbolic participation.
“This invitation is not only for protocol, it’s not for pictures, it’s not for etiquette. It’s because we believe that Korea can really contribute to global governance. We are expecting President Lee to have some concrete proposals.
“Korea is increasingly present in international debates on security, technology, and governance. I will say that the world already sees Korea as a global actor. Maybe Korea does not perceive itself as a global actor yet. So the question should be: how Korea can use this growing influence?” As Lee enters his second year in office, Leveau says the question is no longer only whether Korea has a seat at the table of global governance, but what it makes of it.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.