(January 7, 2025)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken — who was in Seoul this week for meetings as though nothing unusual had happened — released a readout that made no mention of South Korea’s political situation. His response to a direct question about the U.S. position on Yoon’s actions vaguely referenced private intergovernmental discussions before pivoting to boilerplate about democratic resilience. Despite a shocking breach of liberal democracy, Seoul has faced the bare minimum of consequences from its supposed “democratic values-based partner.” Why?