By Jack Kim
SEOUL, Nov 5 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has come under fire from the opposition over his management of the US alliance following revelations of strains in ties during a month-long parliamentary audit that ended last week.
The alliance came under intense scrutiny during the parliamentary audit, where strains over issues ranging from intelligence sharing to White House access and US visa denials came to the surface.
The revelations, coming just ahead of heavy losses for
US President Donald Trump's Republican Party in the midterm elections, raise questions over the future course of the alliance as trade and investment tensions persist and Washington changes its military priorities in Asia to increasingly focus on China.
US officials have said the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea will remain focused on deterring North Korea, but have signalled greater "flexibility" to operate beyond the peninsula in response to regional threats, potentially including a conflict over Taiwan and China's growing military reach.
According to a Pew Research survey published in August, 55% of South Koreans have an unfavourable view of the US, the highest in more than 20 years.
During the audit, spy chief Lee Jong-seok acknowledged that Washington has curtailed some sensitive intelligence sharing after accusing a South Korean minister of publicly disclosing the location of a previously unconfirmed North Korean nuclear site. Lee and the military declined to provide details.
South Korea's ambassador to the US voiced concern during the audit over limited access to key White House officials, while two prominent lawmakers protested when their visas were not issued in time for official US visits.
'FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT'
The opposition People Power Party has blamed Lee personally and his policies, especially on North Korea, for "breaking up" the alliance with the US.
"The cause of the breakup is not external; it's inside (the government)," PPP spokesperson Park Choong-kwon said last week.
Still, South Korean government officials have sought to portray the alliance as fundamentally sound and strains as temporary.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun told parliament last week, when asked about US Ambassador Michelle Steel describing the alliance as in "turbulence": "When you're in a turbulence, fasten your seatbelt and it won't be a problem."
Cho Han-beom of the Institute for National Unification said the discord stems from Washington's growing focus on China, making Seoul's role in checking China more significant, but it also means less attention to the Korean Peninsula itself.
"That will be the case no matter who the president of the United States is," he said.
The US posture in the region is undergoing "a doctrinal change" in priorities, said J. James Kim of the US-based Stimson Center. The national security strategy released by the administration this year surprised Seoul by giving no attention to deterring North Korea.
"I think the best way to put it is that it's in transition," Kim said.
DIVIDED WASHINGTON
Public unease extends beyond the US troop presence. South Koreans were shocked when hundreds of South Korean workers were shackled during last year's immigration raid on a battery project in Georgia state, while Trump's push for South Korean investment has also unsettled the public.
There has also been suspicion among some lawmakers in Washington that Seoul has benefited from its access to the US market while being less welcoming to American companies.
Ewha University professor Leif-Eric Easley said following the midterm results, the alliance could become a growing source of uncertainty for South Korea's security and economic interests despite longstanding bipartisan support for Seoul.
A Democratic-controlled Congress may constrain Trump, Easley said. "But it is unlikely to alleviate pressure on Seoul for greater defence cost-sharing and strategic flexibility of US forces in regional contingencies, including those involving Taiwan."
South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said on Thursday she did not expect major changes in US relations following the midterm elections, although some issues would need to be analysed and addressed case by case.Officials on both sides of the Pacific are loathe to admit any strain.
South Korean Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul after meeting US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week denied there were any differences to resolve.
"Secretary Hegseth had just one thing to say about all the talk out there, and that is 'fake news,'" Kang said. "And I agree with him."
(Reporting by Jack Kim, Brenda GohEditing by Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
