Factors Affecting ROK–US Relations, 1990–2011: An Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates what factors affect Republic of Korea (South Korea)–United States (ROK–US) relations based on a theoretical framework, using event data created by content analysis from 1990 to 2011. South Korea’s economic development led to democratization, which resulted in elite changes. New progressive elites interpreted national interests differently and demanded changes in ROK–US relations. Accordingly, the ROK–US relationship was tense during the progressive administrations. ROK’s economic development attracted more trade with the US, which enhanced the bilateral relationship due to heightened interdependence. By contrast, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)–US relationship and the trade between ROK and China did not significantly affect ROK– relations, meaning ROK’s relationship with other countries does not affect ROK–US relations.

The Determinants of China-ROK Relations, 1993–2018: An Empirical Analysis Using Event Data

“…Meanwhile, there is no consensus on how the events in each given year should be aggregated to quantify annual bilateral relations (D Kim and Heo, 2018). First, we can simply categorize the events into three, such as conflict (-1), neutral (0), and cooperation (+1), count the number of events in each category and sum up the numbers annually to measure whether the bilateral relations were, overall, conflictual or cooperative in a given year.…”