Chaos in South Korea follows impeachment of President - Russia, China stand to gain

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/10/asia/us-south-korea-impeachment-impact/index.html

Protests erupt in South Korea after impeachment - How South Korea's political turmoil could upend ties with the US

(CNN)The impeachment of President Park Geun-hye will usher in new leadership that could take a vastly different approach to South Korea-US relations.

Will the next leader in Seoul agree with the United States on key issues including North Korea and the placement of a US-built missile defense system on South Korean soil? Or will South Korea favor a shift? Will it seek closer relations with China, its largest trading partner?

State Department spokesman Mark Toner characterized Park's ouster as a "domestic issue on which the United States takes no position." He also stressed the close US ties with South Korea as "a linchpin of regional stability and security."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to arrive in Seoul next week.

What comes next

With Park's ouster, South Korea will hold a snap election within 60 days in what is guaranteed be a campaign frenzy. Opinion polls so far show the left-leaning Moon Jae-in, who lost to Park in 2012, as the front-runner.

Liberals in South Korea typically favor a more conciliatory approach with Pyongyang, and many oppose the US missile defense system known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, which is designed to intercept incoming missiles, conceivably from North Korea.

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"If progressives take power, I do think issues like THAAD and North Korea policy could be on the table, which would have huge consequences for the US right now," said David Kang, director of the University of Southern California's Korean Studies Institute.
After nine years of conservative leadership and a scandal-marred Park presidency, South Korea may be signaling it's ready for a change. The conservatives lost their majority in a shock defeat in parliamentary elections last year. New leadership in Seoul could mark a shift on two key issues in US and South Korea relations -- the missile defense system and the position on North Korea.

THAAD and China: It's complicated

The first pieces of the THAAD defense system arrived this week in South Korea. The project has been fiercely opposed by China and Russia as a threat to their security.

More at link above

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So much facepalm in this situation right now. State department remains dark and quiet in the face of this crisis. Tillerson will be traveling into this mess with global implications deliberately leaving the American press behind.

Hmmm. Chaos, Russia, Tillerson and a complete lack of transparency? What could go wrong?