Park Geun-hye was removed from office on March 10 as the Constitutional Court endorsed the parliament's impeachment, a first in its history. While there was only an acting president in the country, concerns over “Korea Passing” mounted. There were fears that the five-month-long vacancy in top-level diplomacy in South Korea would accelerate its diplomatic isolation. Finally, on May 10, Moon Jae-in was sworn in as South Korea’s new president, and it was anticipated that he would bring a shift in South Korean politics. The new administration is expected to reexamine the country’s joint strategy on North Korea with the United States and defuse tensions with China, triggered by THAAD. A senior press secretary of the Moon administration mentioned that the process of important state affairs such as THAAD deployment should be transparently disclosed and reflect public opinion. South Koreans generally welcomed this new transparency; however, some expressed concern that important security decisions might be decided by politics, rather than a thorough assessment of security needs and the importance of South Korea’s alliance with the United States.

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