“Do you trust the U.S. alliance?” Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon publicly asked President Lee Jae-myung on the 1st, declaring that the bilateral partnership with Washington stands on “thin ice.”
Oh issued the critique in a Facebook post titled “Can we entrust national security to a government that doubts the alliance?” The Seoul Mayor argued that fractures within the diplomatic and security apparatus are undermining decades of deterrence against North Korea.
The intervention follows recent friction with Washington. Michelle Steel, the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, publicly used the term “turbulence” to describe current bilateral ties—a descriptor rarely deployed by a diplomatic envoy toward a host nation. Oh pointed to this as evidence of how Washington currently views Seoul.
Cabinet Statements Straining Washington’s Trust
According to Oh, the current administration in Seoul is actively widening the diplomatic rift. He singled out remarks from high-ranking government officials that have strained intelligence sharing and diplomatic trust with the United States.
Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul questioned the reliability of American forces during a parliamentary audit, asking lawmakers whether such troops could truly be trusted if a war broke out with North Korea. Meanwhile, Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young raised American suspicions in April regarding nuclear facilities.
National Intelligence Service Director Lee Jong-seok recently acknowledged that these developments led the U.S. to restrict portions of its intelligence sharing with Seoul. Oh asserted that the foundation of North Korean deterrence has always rested on the conviction that Seoul and Washington act as one, warning that cabinet members are echoing rhetoric Pyongyang wants to hear.
Trade Pressures and the Stalled U.S. Investment Pact
Contrast was drawn with the diplomatic landscape of the previous year. Donald Trump views alliances through a transactional lens, refusing to separate security issues from trade policy, Oh noted.
Oh cautioned that awaiting the outcome of U.S. midterm elections is a passive strategy that ignores America’s entrenched “America First” doctrine. He criticized President Lee’s recent remarks warning against a “seditious attitude,” calling the statement out of touch when the diplomatic foundation is cracking.
Demands for Security Overhaul and Immediate Action
Oh urged the administration to overhaul its foreign policy and security lineup, establish accountability for statements that rattled the alliance, and release a clear schedule for the pending U.S. investments.
“If the government believes in the alliance, it must discipline its diplomatic and security lines and hold those who shook the alliance accountable,” Oh stated.
