Presidential Agenda Setting and Foreign Economic Policy: Explaining South Korea’s Delayed Application to the CPTPP

Foreign policies, including trade policies, typically entail significant executive discretion, marked by a top-down decision-making process. This has been evident in South Korea, where the president, as chief diplomat, wields substantial authority in selecting the country's Free Trade Agreement partners. Given South Korea's efforts to solidify its status as a trade hub and the strategic advantages of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), why has the country not been able to formally apply for membership? What influenced presidents to consistently list the CPTPP as a foreign economic policy objective, yet refrain from participation while actively pursuing other trade initiatives? This article seeks to adopt insights from the agenda-setting literature to comprehend the mechanisms governing presidential agenda priorities in foreign economic policy. Utilising a framework of foreign policy attention, it uncovers factors and processes that influence South Korean presidents' focus in shaping trade policies. It demonstrates that external policy events drive the president's attention, but the limited progress of the CPTPP underscores the crucial impact of the president's priorities and responsiveness to the domestic audience.