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In early June, Lee Jae-myung — the Democratic Party’s candidate — won South Korea’s presidential elections. He took office after several months of political turbulence that followed President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed attempt to impose martial law. Lee’s election raised questions about the future of South Korean security and foreign policy. Now that Lee has chosen key members of his policy team — including nominating Ahn Gyu-back as the first civilian defense minister in decades — a clearer picture is emerging of how the new government will approach defense and relations with allies and rivals. We asked four experts to consider key policies that South Korea is likely to pursue under Lee’s leadership.Read more here.Jenny Town Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and the Director of Stimson’s Korea Program and 38 NorthAs the former chair of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee and a five-term Democratic Party lawmaker, Ahn has deep knowledge of South Korea’s military and experience in defense and security policy and oversight. He will likely push for military reforms and increased transparency to enhance capabilities and rebuild military morale.While major changes in alliance policies are unlikely in the near term, approaches to North Korea will see more immediate and dramatic changes from the previous administration. Ahn seems aligned with Lee’s ambitions to lower tensions and find pathways toward more peaceful relations. Already, Ahn has called for the reexamination of the 2018 Inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement, although without committing to its restoration. While the agreement provided several useful military confidence-building measures at the time, the fundamental nature of North Korean-South Korean relations has changed since negotiations collapsed in 2019. Ahn is wise to assess the value of the measures while avoiding a hasty push to reimpose past terms on current conditions. Finding new footing with Pyongyang will be a