South Korean Political Consolidation through a Political Trust approach in Overcoming Conflict on the Korean Peninsula

Abstract

Abstract. South Korea has multiple interests and has set goals in its foreign policy. But the pursuit of these interests and goals, especially with regard to stability on the Peninsula, is often faced with challenges. Provocative actions from North Korea are one of the serious issues and behaviour that South Korea does not want. Therefore, South Korea has carried out a number of foreign policies in an effort to prevent provocative actions from North Korea, one of which is through the political trust approach taken by President Park Hyun-Geu. By using qualitative methods and explanative analysis methods through document or literature analysis approaches, this article attempts to identify South Korean foreign policy in overcoming conflicts on the Korean Peninsula. The article shows that the concept of Trust Politic is the key word for foreign policy and politics in the Park’s administration era. The basis of the political philosophy of trust or political trust is manifested in the trust process on the Korean Peninsula (Korean Peninsula Trust Process). As a way to build trust between the two countries, South Korea has carried out three stages as a trust process: the first, the humanitarian assistance for the poor and neglected people in North Korea; the second is, the exchange and cooperation between the two countries in the social, economic, and cultural fields; the third is, the Korean Vision Project to build and establish a single market community on the Korean Peninsula. In the third stage, the Vision of the Korean Project is used as the reference in conditioning the accumulation and progress of mutual trust, especially in the issue of the denuclearization of North Korea.