The Journal of Foreign Policy

The Journal of Foreign Policy

The Evolution of South Korea's Foreign Policy in West Asia: From Economic Focus to Multidimensional Engagement (2000-2024)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Rahman Hariri 1
Niloofar Abdi 2
Seyyed Shamsuddin Sadeghi 2
1 Assistant Professor and Faculty Member, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University
2 Department of Political Science and International Relations, Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah
10.22034/fp.2026.734334
Abstract
With its strategic geopolitical location, vital corridors, and significant share of energy reserves, West Asia plays a decisive role in the power structure, energy equations, and international security architecture. For South Korea, which obtains most of its energy needs from this region, West Asia is of strategic and irreplaceable importance. Although Seoul’s previous interactions with this region were mainly focused on energy-based cooperation, since the 2000s it has gradually included areas such as new technologies, infrastructure development, security-military cooperation, and cultural diplomacy.

The main question of the research is how has South Korea’s foreign policy in West Asia changed between 2000 and 2024? This research, using a descriptive-analytical method and using the theoretical framework of institutional neoliberalism, examines the institutional, economic, and structural mechanisms of this transformation. The results show that increasing economic and energy interdependence, the development of institutional arrangements in the fields of energy, technology, and infrastructure, the strengthening of cooperation rules, and the growing role of large Korean companies in multi-level cooperation networks have been the most important factors in the transition of Seoul's foreign policy from an economy-oriented model to a multidimensional and institution-based interaction model. As a result of this transformation, South Korea's relations with West Asia have enjoyed greater institutional coherence, and the position of this region in Seoul's foreign policy macro strategy has been enhanced.
Keywords
South Korea
West Asia
Institutional Neoliberalism
Interdependence
Multidimensional Interaction
Subjects
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The Journal of Foreign Policy
Volume 39, Issue 4
Winter 2026
Pages 203-226