Foreign Policy > South Korea

ROK: Is Alliance That War Brought Together Being Torn Asunder by Peace?

South Korea’s new president is quick to spurn a long history of friendship, instead, seeking “allies” in communist regimes.

James Zumwalt | June 5, 2026

National alliances do not last forever. Iran is a prime example of this. Half a century ago, as a monarchy, it was a strong American ally in the Cold War—led by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who stood as a bulwark against communism. Forced into exile in 1979, the Shah was replaced by an extremist Islamic theocracy that labelled America as “the Great Satan.” It aggressively sought our demise through proxies, transitioning our relationship from friend to foe.

As painful as it was to lose the Iranian alliance—in effect for over eight decades and established by American blood to save Iran from communism and put it on the road to democracy—more painful was the dismissal of those sacrifices we made.

As national interests change, so too do alliances. But seldom does the change involve one democracy berating another, choosing to edge closer to a communist enemy both fought together earlier as allies.

This is what is happening in the Republic of Korea (ROK) where a liberal presidential candidate (a member of its Democratic Party of Korea, also known as the Minju Party) took office last year. He is President Lee Jae Myung who, by constitution, is to serve only a single five-year term. Unfortunately, however, he seems to be doing all he can, as fast as he can, to negate the relationship the U.S. and ROK have long enjoyed while solidifying his power. It is important to understand how this bond evolved before explaining what Lee is doing to destroy it.

In 1910, Japan had taken control of the Korean Peninsula—surrendering it due to its World War II defeat. The Soviet Union in the North, and the U.S. in the South (ROK)—were supposedly to work towards........

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