變遷中的南韓中國政策

Abstract

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, Sino-South Korean relations have grown in a rapid way, upgraded from a cooperative partnership oriented towards the 21(superscript st) century in 1998 to a comprehensive cooperative partnership in 2003, then further up to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in 2008. Meanwhile, South Korean politics has completed a full circle transforming from a conservative government under Kim Young-sam to Liberal governments under Kim Dae Jung and Roh Moo-hyun then back to the current conservative Lee Myung-bak Government. During the period, South Korea`s China policy has undergone qualitative transformation due to both swiftly changing domestic and external environment. This article explores South Korea`s China policy since Kim Dae Jung came to power in 1998 from three angles, namely political, economic and security interactions. The author finds that Sino-South Korea relations were increasingly intimate during the ten years under liberal governments owing to converging interests, their North Korea policies in particular. However, the bilateral relationship under Lee Myung-bak has gone into trouble due largely to South Korea`s changing foreign policy priorities, though kept in harmony on surface.