Diplomacy Leverages Smart Power in AI Age
A Korea Times opinion column published June 30, 2026 by Heo Mane, professor emeritus at Pusan National University, argues that South Korea should prioritize "smart-power diplomacy" -- combining AI, economic, and cultural capabilities with military strength -- to navigate a fragmented, multipolar world in the AI era. The piece contends traditional diplomatic practices alone are no longer sufficient as AI accelerates information flows and reshapes statecraft, and cites historical Korean precedents (Goryeo-era diplomat Seo Hui, President Syngman Rhee) as models for blending soft and hard power. It is a single-author contributor column, not a policy announcement or new report, so its claims reflect one academic's framing rather than confirmed government policy.
What happened
A Korea Times opinion column published June 30, 2026 and written by Heo Mane, professor emeritus at Pusan National University and former president of the Korean Society of Contemporary European Studies, argues that traditional diplomacy is being reshaped by AI's speed of information dissemination and technological change. The author contends South Korea should prioritize "smart-power diplomacy" -- pairing soft power (economic, technological, AI, and cultural capabilities) with hard power (military capabilities) -- to pursue national interests, including Korean Peninsula security, amid what the piece describes as an increasingly fragmented, multipolar international order.
Policy context
The column frames its argument through two historical Korean precedents: Goryeo-dynasty diplomat Seo Hui's 993 negotiation that secured six fortifications along the Yalu River, and President Syngman Rhee's post-Korean War diplomacy with President Eisenhower that produced the 1953 ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty. The author uses these as models for combining limited hard power with persuasion and strategic statecraft, applying that lens to Korea's current position navigating U.S.-China tensions, Russia, and a hesitant NATO.
For practitioners
For those tracking AI governance and policy signals, this piece is a useful data point on how middle-power academics frame AI-era statecraft, rather than a new development. It contains no new data, government policy proposal, or regulatory announcement -- it's a single contributor's argument, published under Korea Times' opinion section, that AI is not replacing diplomacy but raising the bar for how soft and hard power are integrated. Practitioners should treat its geopolitical framing (multipolar disorder, great-power behavior) as one author's perspective, not settled analysis.
Key Points
- 1A Korea Times opinion column argues AI is accelerating change in diplomacy, requiring states to blend soft and hard power more deliberately.
- 2The author, a Pusan National University professor emeritus, frames this as "smart-power diplomacy" using historical Korean negotiation precedents.
- 3The piece is a single-author contributor column with no new policy, data, or regulatory development behind it.
Scoring Rationale
Single-author opinion column (Korea Times, June 30 2026) by a Pusan National University professor emeritus, arguing for AI-era "smart-power diplomacy." No new data, policy proposal, government action, or regulatory development -- purely one academic's framing of diplomacy and AI. Marginal relevance to AI policy practitioners as a viewpoint piece, not a newsworthy event.
Sources
Primary source and supporting public references used for this report.
Practice interview problems based on real data
1,625 SQL & Python problems across 15 industry datasets — the exact type of data you work with.
Try 250 free problems
