New Crises and Old Coalitions? Foreign Policy Challenges and Issue Ownership Changes in South Korea* Jungkun Seo In this study I explore the changes and challenges confronting conservatives in South Korea when it comes to party reputation over national security. First, this paper addresses the notion of credibility and flexibility related to the dilemma of party change and elaborates on the reality of party transformation in South Korea. Then, by analyzing polling results and policy details, I monitor how the Korean public perceives President Moon Jae-in’s coping with North Korea’s denuclearization. Additionally, I examine how and why conservatives in South Korea are forced to search for new ideas to recover their old coalitions when confronted with new crises, ranging from those involving North Korea to failed presidents. Concluding remarks include some reform agendas for South Korea’s foreign policy-making in the post-Candlelight Era. This paper sheds new light on the how and why national security crises and challenges would often shape the reinvention of partisan coalition-building in domestic politics.

New Crises and Old Coalitions? Foreign Policy Challenges and Issue Ownership Changes in South Korea Jungkun Seo......... 1 Russia and the Korean Peace Process Stephen Blank....... 23 Testing the Importance of Information Control to Pyongyang: How North Korea Reacts to the Diplomatic, Information, Military and Economic Tools of Statecraft Scott Fisher....... 67 In Search of Diaspora Connections: North Korea’s Policy towards Korean Americans, 1973-1979 Kelly Un Kyong Hur..... 113