Moolenaar: South Korea Putting Indispensable Alliance with U.S. At Risk
Chairman John Moolenaar of the Select Committee on China has sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio raising concerns about South Korea's growing alignment with China, which could undermine its own relationship with America. The letter cites increased “[South Korean] semiconductor investment inside [China], and discriminatory treatment of American firms relative to their [China]-linked competitors,” as well as criticism of U.S. forces and dismissive comments on the security situation in Taiwan from South Korean leadership.
In the letter, Moolenaar writes:
"The U.S.-ROK alliance remains indispensable; that is precisely why the potential for frictions to develop into a structural shift in Seoul’s alignment warrants close monitoring and, as necessary, concerted action. The pattern described below, including nine months of intensive leader-level engagement between Seoul and Beijing, deepening ROK semiconductor investment inside the PRC, and discriminatory treatment of American firms relative to their PRC-linked competitors in Korea demonstrates the need for heightened vigilance.
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“This regulatory disparity is even more stark when contrasting how Korean authorities handle severe security breaches involving Chinese entities against minor incidents at U.S. firms. In October 2025, an OTP security vulnerability on AliExpress enabled hackers to steal approximately $6 million in settlement funds from Korean small-business sellers on the platform. Yet, despite the platform suppressing the breach for four months, Korean regulators conducted no facility raids and imposed no fines. In another instance, children’s toys, apparel, and accessories sold on PRC platforms like AliExpress and Temu have repeatedly tested positive for toxic lead, cadmium, and endocrine disruptors at hundreds of times legal safety limits. Yet, rather than subjecting these platforms to binding statutory oversight or enforcement, Korean authorities granted the platforms a non-binding agreement to self-police hazardous goods.
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“Even more concerning is Seoul’s posture toward regional contingencies. The February 2026 Yellow Sea air-defense identification episode produced public friction over notification and coordination and drew commentary in Korea criticizing USFK operations rather than PRC conduct. Seoul has effectively ruled out supporting a potential regional response to a Taiwan contingency triggered by PRC aggression, underscored by President Lee’s blunt assertion: ‘[W]hat does it matter to us what happens in the Taiwan Strait?’”
Read the full letter here.