Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks to Air Force senior leaders during the Department of the Air Force Summit at Joint Base Andrews, Md., March 19, 2025. (Madelyn Keech/U.S. Air Force)
SEOUL, South Korea — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is not expected to stop in South Korea during his upcoming Indo-Pacific trip, a South Korean defense official said this week, as the country remains in political turmoil following the impeachment of its president.
Hegseth will leave Seoul off his itinerary due to a “scheduling adjustment” by the United States, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Jeon Ha Gyu said at a press conference Monday.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense did not immediately respond to an email Wednesday evening in Washington, D.C., requesting details on Hegseth’s itinerary and the countries he plans to visit.
U.S. defense secretaries have traditionally visited Seoul as part of their early engagements in Asia. Lloyd Austin, Hegseth’s predecessor, made stops in Hawaii, Japan, South Korea and India during his first overseas trip in March 2021.
Hegseth’s first foreign trip as defense chief took him to Europe, where he visited U.S. troops in Germany and Poland and met with NATO leaders in Brussels. Since his confirmation in January, he has spoken separately with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, pledging to strengthen military ties.
South Korea has been navigating a political crisis since December, when President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached following a short-lived martial law attempt on Dec. 3 that led to the resignation of his national defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun.
Yoon’s position is now held in an acting capacity by Choi Sang-mok, the minister of economy and finance. Vice Minister of National Defense Kim Seon-ho is serving as acting defense minister.
South Korea’s Constitutional Court concluded Yoon’s impeachment trial on Feb. 25 but has yet to issue a ruling. If the court upholds the impeachment, the country must hold a presidential election within 60 days; if the decision is overturned, Yoon will resume his term, which runs through May 2027.
The decision to exclude South Korea from Hegseth’s itinerary may have been intended to avoid placing diplomatic pressure on Seoul ahead of the ruling, said Park Jae Jeok, an associate professor at Yonsei University in Seoul.
Austin also skipped South Korea during his last trip to the Indo-Pacific, meeting with Japanese leaders on Dec. 8, five days after Yoon’s martial law declaration.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and South Korea concluded an 11-day, biannual military exercise on Thursday.
Freedom Shield, which took place across South Korea, was “essential for enhancing deterrence” against adversaries, Choi said in a speech in Seongnam, according to a U.S. Forces Korea news release.
“I extend my heartfelt appreciation to all service members for their unwavering commitment to their duties,” he said.
