Washington's Bad Bet on Yoon

They did their “painstaking alliance-building” on sand, and then they are shocked when the structure starts collapsing.

The New York Times reports on how Yoon’s desperate power grab will likely hasten the undoing of his foreign policy agenda:

Now​, as he is locked out of power following his impeachment, his foreign policy — and ​Washington’s painstaking alliance-building in Northeast Asia —​ faces the prospect of unraveling. Mr. Yoon was not impeached for his foreign policy. But his diplomatic agenda​ — his greatest legacy​ — could be one of the biggest casualties of his downfall.

While Yoon wasn’t impeached for his foreign policy, it is important to remember that important parts of his foreign policy were at odds with what most people in South Korea wanted. His legacy wasn’t going to last long even if he hadn’t destroyed his presidency with his deranged coup attempt. The South Korean public didn’t approve of what he did to accommodate Japan, and this part of his agenda remains controversial. Assuming that the Democratic Party wins the next election to replace Yoon, it will likely be overturned.

The headline of the story says that the impeachment has “cost the United States a staunch ally,” but it would be more accurate to say that it brought down an unreliable and reckless leader.