Asymmetric Economic Strategic Approaches Responding to Economic Warfare: A Case Study of the South Korea Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Dispute
Keywords:
international economic policy, security, Terminal High Altitude Area DefenseAbstract
This qualitative research examines South Korea’s asymmetric strategic approach to economic disputes, focusing on the case of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) controversy, using an economic warfare conceptual framework. The objectives are to analyze: 1) Chinese anti-South Korean economic sanctions; and 2) subsequent South Korean response. Results are that Chinese economic warfare targeted South Korean industries vulnerable from dependence on China’s domestic demand, state power, and media influence. Specifically, China leveraged internal factors as economic warfare weapons stemming from geopolitical security concerns. The South Korean asymmetric strategic response to this economic warfare shifted from a zero-sum game mentality. Instead of comprehensively decoupling from the Chinese economy, South Korea strategically worked to reduce dependency on China. Efforts included expanding investments in Southeast Asia, leveraging industrial expertise, and aligning foreign policy with the broader goal of ensuring South Korean economic security.
Downloads
References
ปริญญา นวลเปียน. (2563). ทฤษฎีความขัดแย้งแบบอสมมาตร: การพิจารณาเกี่ยวกับกลยุทธ์และผลลัพธ์. รัฐศาสตร์พิจาร, 7(1), 1-15.
เสกสรร อานันทศิริเกียรติ. (2567, 5 มกราคม). ยุทธศาสตร์อินโด-แปซิฟิกของเกาหลีใต้: นัยต่อภูมิภาคเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้และไทย. ศูนย์ศึกษาการต่างประเทศ. https://isc.mfa.go.th/en/content/ยุทธศาสตร์อินโด-แปซิฟิกของเกาหลีใต้
Borowiec, S. (2023, June 22). THAAD missile system agitates South Korea-China ties. Nikkei Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/THAAD-missile-system-agitates-South-Korea-China-ties
Chang, C. E. (2019). China’s Punitive Playbook: A Case Study on Post-THAAD Sanctions. American Intelligence Journal, 36(2), 61–73.
Choi, J., & Kim, H.-g. (2016). Sade bushu zhengyi yu zhongguo duihan jingji baofu de kenengxing yanjiu [Research on THAAD dispute and China’s possible economic retaliation toward Korea]. China Watching (Chinese Version), 14, 1–3.
Cramer, M. (2022). South Korean Public Diplomacy: A Case Study of China and THAAD. Student Repository. https://hdl.handle.net/1887/3454971
Debates, R. (2019, May 29). Sino-South Korean Relations: Towards improvement?. Observer Research Foundation. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/sino-south-korean-relations-towards-improvement-51427
Doshi, R. (2021). The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order. Oxford University Press.
Førland, T. E. (1993). The History of Economic Warfare: International Law, Effectiveness, Strategies. Journal of Peace Research, 30(2), 151–162.
Global Times. (2022, March 21). South Korea’s Lotte’s reported exit from China shows foreign business should embrace the changes and trends in Chinese economy: experts. https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202203/1256442.shtml
Glosserman, B. (2023, February 14). China’s economic coercion isn’t as scary as it sounds. The Japan Time. https://tinyurl.com/msvj68vu
He, B., Hundt, D., & Simonell, D. (2023, May 5). South Korea pushes back against Chinese economic coercion. East Asia Forum. https://eastasiaforum.org/2023/05/05/south-korea-pushes-back-against-chinese-e
Hyeogn, C. D., & Gyu, L. D. (2023). How Should South Korea Respond to China’s Pressure?. The Asan Institute for Policy Studies. https://en.asaninst.org/contents/how-should-south-korea-respond-to-chinas-pressure/
Ide, B., & Huang, J. (2017, March 10). South Korean Businesses in China Feel Backlash Over Seoul Missile Deployment. VOA. https://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-fallout-over-thaad-deployment-spreads/3759762.html
Jang-won, B. (2017). China’s THAAD retaliation may cost Korea’s GDP $14.76bn: private study. Pulse. https://pulse.mk.co.kr/news/english/7738480
Kim, H., & Lee, J. (2021). The Economic Costs of Diplomatic Conflict: Evidence from the South Korea–China THAAD Dispute. Korean Economic Review, 37, 225-262.
Klein, M. C., & Pettis, M. (2020). Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace. Yale University Press.
Kong, W. N. (2021). Economic Effect and Resolution Idea of the THAAD Political Conflict on South Korea’s Exports to China. The Chinese Economy, 55(2), 88–110.
Lim, D. J. (2019, December 28). Chinese Economic Coercion during the THAAD Dispute. The Asan Forum. https://theasanforum.org/chinese-economic-coercion-during-the-thaad-dispute/
Mamchii, O. (2023, December 22). South Korea Relations With China Over the Years. Best Diplomats. https://bestdiplomats.org/south-korea-relations-with-china/
Song, H. (2021). The China-South Korea Relationship after the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Controversy: Diplomacy, Security, Economy, and Public Opinion Areas. Georgetown University.
Taillard, M. (2018). Economics and Modern Warfare The Invisible Fist of the Market. Palgrave Macmillan Books.
Tias, A. (2021). South Korea and Chinese Conflict over THAAD: How it started and the way it ended. Review of International Relations, 2(2), 80-90.
Yang, F. W. T. (2019). Asymmetrical Interdependence and Sanction: China’s Economic Retaliation over South Korea’s THAAD Deployment. Issues & Studies, 55(4). https://doi.org/10.1142/S1013251119400083
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Thai Journal of East Asian Studies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
