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President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine following their joint address to the press following a summit in Kyiv on July 15. (courtesy of the presidential office)

An initiative aimed at peace and solidarity announced by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol after a summit Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy consists of three items each in the areas of security, humanitarian assistance, and reconstruction support.

Visible examples of cooperation in these areas are expected to emerge following Zelenskyy’s request to the South Korean government to establish a “Ukraine recovery center.”

With Yoon declaring his intent to provide “war supplies assistance on a large scale” as a form of security support, analysts are predicting Seoul could possibility shift its course toward providing Ukraine with lethal weapons in the future.

Over the course of 110 minutes on Saturday morning, Yoon had one-and-one and expanded summits with Zelenskyy at Mariinskyi Palace, the official presidential residence, in Kyiv. In a joint press statement afterward, he announced the “Peace and Solidarity Initiative,” which included a total of nine support measures.

In the area of security, the measures included a pledge for cooperation on the pursuit of a “peace formula summit” proposed by Zelenskyy for the recovery of Ukrainian territory, the withdrawal of Russian troops, and the reestablishment of existing borders. Other pledges included expanded support for military goods such as body armor and helmets and the promotion of global food and energy security.

In terms of humanitarian support, the measures included providing “support as swiftly as possible with the humanitarian items needed by the people of Ukraine.” This included an increase in mine detector assistance; US$150 million in support from the South Korean government along with other financial support in cooperation with the World Bank; and assistance for children, including psychological treatment.

In terms of reconstruction support, the terms included cooperation on infrastructure building and other efforts through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and official development assistance, as well as greater cooperation of online and offline education system construction and the creation of scholarships in Yoon and Zelenskyy’s names.

In a briefing from Kyiv on Sunday, Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, explained, “We developed this nine-point package after accepting President Zelenskyy’s request at the G7 summit in Hiroshima [in May] for South Korea to be a part in Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts.”

Commenting on the infrastructure projects including the reconstruction support category, he said, “Ukraine has been requesting direct investment from South Korean businesses in areas ranging from rechargeable battery and electric vehicle production to metals, refining, communications and digital areas.”

Kim’s remarks emphasized South Korea’s participation in a reconstruction project with an estimated total scale between 1.3 quadrillion and 2 quadrillion won as being an “achievement” from Yoon’s visit to Ukraine.

Choi Sang-mok, the senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, previously described the Ukraine reconstruction effort as a “second Marshall Plan,” likening it to the European reconstruction plan in the wake of World War II. He also presented an analysis indicating that South Korean private and public institutions’ participation in primary reconstruction efforts would be at a scale of around US$52 billion.

The presidential office denied that the expanded support in the area of security would have anything to do with lethal weapon assistance.

In an interview with Reuters last April, Yoon said, “If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support.” This led some observers to predict Seoul would be expanding the scope of its weapon assistance in the wake of his Ukraine visit.

Kim insisted that the increased support with military goods was a matter of “planning and envisioning bilateral defense industry cooperation in the medium to long term.”

But the fact that Yoon’s reference to South Korea “continuing to provide Ukraine with assistance with the military supplies it needs” did not stipulate that these would be non-weapon systems had some analysts suggesting he may have left the door open for lethal weapon support at a later date.

A higher likelihood that Ukraine may request a broader scope of weapon assistance from South Korea in the future was also suggested by the joint press statement, in which Zelenskyy was quoted as having requested that South Korea join the G7 leaders’ joint statement on support of Ukraine.

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter; Kwon Hyuk-chul, staff reporter

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