At a seminar hosted by APARC’s Korea Program, Professor Byongjin Ahn, a former member of President Lee Jae-myung’s National Policy Planning Committee and APARC visiting scholar, offered an insider’s view of South Korea’s new administration. Drawing on his background as a former democracy activist and scholar of American politics, Ahn reflected on how Lee’s leadership is reshaping South Korea’s political order at a moment of domestic polarization and technological change.
 

Defining Moments: Kimbap and Summits

Ahn argued that it is too early to judge Lee by policy outcomes, but key defining moments already shape public perceptions. At home, Lee’s image has been marked by scenes of him eating kimbap, an everyday meal in Korea, with cabinet members and staff, signaling modesty and a hands-on work ethic in contrast to the perceived luxury of the previous Yoon administration.
 

Abroad, Lee’s summits with leaders such as former U.S. President Donald Trump have showcased his willingness to take calculated risks, from pushing for major investments in shipbuilding to embracing controversial discussions around nuclear-powered submarines. However, Ahn remains skeptical of the feasibility of such projects but noted that they highlight Lee’s bold, pragmatic approach to securing Korea’s strategic and industrial interests.
 

Korea’s Dual Democracy and Fandom Politics

Ahn described South Korea as a “dual democracy,” where weak formal institutions often coexist with routine protest and extra-parliamentary resistance. He recalled the night of Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration, when citizens quickly mobilized at the National Assembly to block what they saw as an unconstitutional move – evidence of both institutional fragility and strong civic resolve.
 

Within this system, Ahn warned, fandom-based politics and militant partisanship are eroding liberal norms. The Democratic Party, he suggested, contains both liberal and illiberal tendencies, and many politicians are more focused on punishing opponents than deepening constitutional democracy. Lee, in his view, is a shrewd pragmatist who has so far avoided overt revenge politics but has yet to fully articulate a robust liberal vision.
 

AI Alliances and Korea’s Strategic Role

Looking outward, Ahn situated Lee’s presidency in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. South Korea is now a crucial partner for the United States in advanced manufacturing and AI-related technologies, while its colonial past and development trajectory resonate with many Global South countries. Combined with the global influence of K-pop, K-dramas, and cultural figures like BTS and Son Heung-min, this gives Korea the potential to act as a “multiflexible bridge” in regional and global politics.
 

Ahn sees promise in an AI-centered alliance strategy built around Korea’s full production chain, from design to manufacturing, but cautioned that Lee’s optimism about technology risks underestimating the dangers of platform monopolies and surveillance. AI, he argued, must be governed with human dignity and democratic accountability at the forefront, not just efficiency or economic gain.
 

Ahn concluded that whether Lee’s administration becomes truly transformational will depend on moving beyond tactical pragmatism toward a clearer set of values that can guide South Korea through an era of AI disruption, great-power rivalry, and intensifying domestic polarization. 
 

Key Takeaways for the Lee Administration
 

• Defining images matter: kimbap meals and high-stakes summits have quickly shaped Lee’s public persona despite his controversial past.

• South Korea remains a dual democracy, where protest and civic mobilization backstop fragile institutions.

• Lee’s pragmatism is an asset but cannot substitute for clear liberal and constitutional commitments.

• AI and advanced manufacturing offer Korea new leverage but also raise serious risks of corporate and state overreach.

• Korea is well-positioned to serve as a “multiflexible bridge” between the United States, China, Japan, and the Global South, only if it can pair strategic pragmatism with a human-centered democratic vision.