Canceled and Postponed, with Chinese Checks... Yoon's Challenging First Overseas Tour

Failed Meeting Between Finland and NATO Secretary-General... Yoon Leaves After Waiting 30 Minutes On Site
Opposition Criticizes Yoon's Moves Amid 'China Distancing'... China Also Begins Checks, "It Will Get Complicated"

(Madrid, Spain = Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan) President Yoon Suk-yeol's first overseas trip is not going smoothly. The initial schedule of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit (local time on the 28th), a summit meeting with President Sauli Niinist? of Finland, was canceled, followed by the cancellation of a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the same day. It is reported that President Yoon waited for about 30 minutes at the meeting venue before turning back.

The background behind the cancellation of meetings with both the Finnish president and the NATO Secretary General lies in the issue of Finland and Sweden's NATO membership. Negotiations among NATO, these two countries, and T?rkiye (Turkey) over NATO membership have taken longer than expected. President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an of T?rkiye opposed Finland and Sweden's NATO membership and used this issue as leverage to push for his long-standing goal of modernizing fighter jets.

Domestically, opposition parties such as the Democratic Party have also begun to check President Yoon. The Democratic Party warned that President Yoon's decision to distance South Korea from China could cause significant damage to the South Korean economy, which is highly dependent on China and Russia, and could trigger a new Cold War on the Korean Peninsula.

On the 28th, the day President Yoon's main NATO schedule was set, the Global Times, affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper People's Daily, cited experts saying, "If the Yoon Suk-yeol administration increasingly loses diplomatic independence by relying on the United States, relations with China will become more complicated." This was a form of pressure from China through state media regarding President Yoon's participation in the NATO meeting.

However, the presidential office has only given a fundamental response to the criticism that greater Chinese pressure is expected not only on security but also economically, saying, "Because the benefits we have reflexively obtained are decreasing, for our survival, we need to strengthen cooperation with Europe."

Moreover, the Democratic Party continues to criticize remarks President Yoon made during a meeting with journalists accompanying him on the trip. On Air Force One heading to Madrid, Spain, where the NATO summit was held, President Yoon told the accompanying press corps that during the more than 10-hour flight, "I watched some Premier League football and read some books."

Regarding this, Representative Baek Hyeryun said, "President Yoon makes many verbal mistakes, but when asked what he did on the plane, he said he watched European football," adding, "Although it was a long time, when going abroad for diplomacy, it is a busy time preparing who to meet, personal information about them, and what to discuss."

However, the meeting with the NATO Secretary General is currently being rescheduled by both sides. Furthermore, according to foreign media, T?rkiye signed a memorandum of understanding with Finland and Sweden on the same day supporting their NATO membership. Finnish President Sauli Niinist? stated in a press release that the agreement signed by the three countries in Madrid includes a confirmation that "T?rkiye will support Sweden and Finland's NATO membership at the Madrid NATO summit." NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also told reporters on site in Madrid, "We are pleased to announce that we have reached an agreement to open the way for Sweden and Finland's NATO membership," so the meeting schedule with President Yoon is likely to be adjusted sooner than expected.