US forces drawdown talk spooks Seoul ahead of presidential election

SEOUL - A report alleging that the United States plans to reduce its military presence in South Korea has sparked fears about what it means for Washington’s security commitments in the troubled Korean peninsula.

The Wall Street Journal, citing defence officials with knowledge of the matter, reported on May 22 that the idea is being floated as part of an informal review, which suggests the re-deployment of 4,500, or 16 per cent, of the 28,500 American troops based in South Korea to other parts of the Pacific, including to Guam.

The troops form the United States Forces Korea (USFK),a component of the joint US-Korean forces whose role is to maintain peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

While the report claims that such a plan has not yet reached US President Donald Trump’s desk, many see it as an extension of the Pentagon’s plans to focus on raising allies’ share of the burden of maintaining such joint forces and countering China threats in the Indo-Pacific as part of the wider “America First” vision.

Both defence ministries have since come out on May 23 to deny the report, with Seoul saying that such plans had not been discussed. Washington, for its part, said that the US “remains firmly committed to the defence of South Korea” and looks forward to working with the next Korean administration.

Nevertheless, the report has shaken many in Seoul, where the government has been hobbled in the past half year by the Dec 3, 2024, botched martial law declaration of then President Yoon Suk Yeol and his subsequent impeachment.

South Koreans will head to the polls on June 3 to pick a new leader after former president Yoon’s ouster on April 4.

Apart from domestic troubles, South Korea is also facing rising threats from an increasingly