มุมมองด้านความมั่นคงของเกาหลีใต้ อดีตและปัจจุบัน

Abstract

The closure of Kaesong Industrial Complex and the decision to deploy Terminal

High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) of the Park Geun-hye administration in

response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests suggested that South Korean political

leaders’ security perspective still emphasized traditional or military security. Given this

background, this study aimed to explore South Korea’s security perspective since the

establishment of the Republic of Korea until the Park Geun-hye administration because

their perspectives were relevant to how to resolve the conflict with North Korea. The

findings revealed that South Korean political leaders viewed North Korea as an enemy.

Enhancing military capabilities and providing deterrent assurance form the United States

helped prevent the North Korea’s invasion. Except for President Kim Dae-jung and

Roh Moo-hyun, they did not regard North Korea as an enemy. Therefore, inter-Korean

relations of confrontation and hostility transformed into reconciliation and cooperation.

But, during the era of President Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, South Korea’s

security perspective shifted toward emphasizing traditional security. Coincidentally,

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un insisted that North Korea would not relinquish its

nuclear weapons program due to the use of nuclear weapons for deterrence purposes.

Thus, President Park Geun-hye of pursuing hardline policy toward North Korea and

also President Barack Obama of pursuing a policy of ‘strategy patience’ seemed less

productive for resolving the conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The rationale was that

such policies gave little attention to negotiation and diplomatic channels.