President Lee Jae-myung has taken office amid an intensifying rivalry between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, placing Korea on a diplomatic tightrope.
Washington sent a stark warning against Seoul’s dual-track approach — defense with the United States and trade with China — via U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during the Shangri-La Dialogue on May 31. Xi, on his part, urged Lee to "jointly safeguard free trade" in a phone call on Tuesday, signaling Beijing’s own strategic pressure.
Against this backdrop, a recent public opinion survey shows that Koreans favor neither a strategy of relying on the United States for security and China for economic ties, nor one of aligning fully with the United States in both areas.
People instead prefer a more balanced approach of maintaining strong security cooperation with the United States while pursuing economic partnerships with both Washington and Beijing.
The poll, conducted jointly by the JoongAng Ilbo and the East Asia Institute (EAI) on June 4 and 5, surveyed 1,509 adults nationwide via online panels.
It found that 64.9 percent viewed strategic competition between the United States and China as Korea's greatest threat. This was followed closely by 59.8 percent who cited the rise of protectionism and tech competition.
In contrast, last August’s poll had climate change at 51.2 percent and North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats at 51.1 percent as the top concerns. The shift suggests that South Koreans now feel the economic impact of U.S.-China tensions more directly, including Trump-era tariffs.
The top diplomatic priority for the new administration, according to respondents, should be bolstering economic diplomacy, which drew 49.8 percent. EAI analysts said this aligned with rising dissatisfaction toward both Washington and Beijing. While past views largely blamed China for regional friction, more now believe both countries share responsibility.
Negative perceptions of the United States have grown, rising from 12.7 percent in 2024 to 17.1 percent this year. Among those critical of the United States, 79.9 percent cited coercive trade and tariff policies. That figure was just 34.4 percent last year.
Recent moves such as blanket tariffs on Korean steel and autos and speculation about U.S. troop drawdowns in Korea likely fueled this sentiment.
The percentage of Koreans who view the United States as a military threat also increased, from 8.7 percent last year to 15.4 percent. Respondents pointed to Trump’s unilateral statements, such as suggesting military use in areas like the Panama Canal and Greenland, as causes for concern.
However, support for the U.S.-Korea alliance remains strong.
The percentage of those who believe the alliance should expand beyond North Korea deterrence to global problem-solving rose from 77.8 percent last year to 86.3 percent this year.
Backing for trilateral security cooperation among Korea, the United States and Japan also increased, from 66.5 percent to 75.3 percent during the same period.
The most common reason, cited by 74.9 percent, was its importance in denuclearizing North Korea and stabilizing the Korean Peninsula. Another 49.9 percent viewed it as necessary to counter China's rise.
When asked to name the most important diplomatic relationship, 90.7 percent chose the United States, more than double the 43.2 percent who named China.
However, when it came to economic ties, 93.3 percent said the United States was important, while 82.7 percent said the same of China — a mere 10.6 percentage point gap. This reflects a public consensus that economic cooperation with China remains essential, despite U.S. pressure.
Opposition to U.S.-led restrictions on Korean and Japanese trade with China surged from 55.4 percent last year to 70.8 percent this year.
When asked about the top priorities in relations with the United States, 23.9 percent chose economic and advanced technology cooperation — up 4.8 percentage points from a similar poll conducted in August 2021, before the 2022 presidential election.
In Korea-China relations, 33.9 percent identified economic exchanges and tech cooperation as the most important issues, up 13.1 percentage points from 2021. With President Trump urging economic decoupling from China, Koreans appear increasingly resistant to cutting ties with Beijing.