South Korea has regained its footing, says President Lee 10 months after martial law crisis

Seoul is continuing to tackle outstanding issues with major powers, including trade and technology, he says

- Wendy Teo South Korea Correspondent

South Korea has moved past last December's martial law debacle, said its President Lee Jae Myung, and it is ready to reprise its role as a key player in the global community as it gears up to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit meetings next week.

“International confidence in Korea has been fully restored,” he declared in an interview with The Straits Times, pointing to a surge in foreign investments and ambitious foreign policy initiatives as evidence.

But in a nod to challenges at hand, he acknowledged that South Korea is still trying to navigate its fraught relationships with its two largest trading partners.

A trade deal with Washington to ease tariff pressure on South Korean companies, for instance, has yet to be finalised, with both governments in a deadlock over details of Seoul’s pledge of US$350 billion (S$454.7 billion) in investments in the US.

Mr Lee said that while he is keen to reach a compromise in a much-anticipated meeting with US President Donald Trump in Seoul next week, he is cautious about “working towards any artificial deadline”.