The NSP-K and NSP-K Plus: Elevating South Korea's Middle Power Presence Among Asean Member Countries

The Republic of Korea's New Southern Policy (referred to as NSP-K throughout this article for the purpose of differentiating it from the New Southbound Policy of Taiwan) and the New Southern Policy Plus (NSP-K+) were regarded as highlights of former President Moon JaeIn's foreign policy. The NSP-K was the country's first unified diplomatic initiative aimed specifically at strengthening relations with India and ASEAN, and the Moon administration's commitment to it was established at the very beginning of his presidency through the formation of a special Presidential Committee to coordinate its implementation. In this article, we look at how the introduction of the NSP-K after November 2017 and the NSP-K+ after 2020 contributed towards improving the middle power presence of the Republic of Korea (RoK, South Korea) in Southeast Asia. The article begins by examining the understanding of "middle power" and South Korea's own evolution as a middle power state. After that, it looks at South Korea's relationship with ASEAN prior to the implementation of the NSP-K. The subsequent section examines the NSP-K and NSP-K+ and analyses how these initiatives contributed towards the enhancement of South Korea's middle power presence in the region. The article concludes by offering some policy suggestions that might ensure South Korea's new administration does not lose this positive momentum in its shift towards a new "Indo-Pacific" outlook.