The 2020 United States presidential election was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The polls have closed yet the result is not defined.

The former vice president of the USA, Joe Biden, is projected to win 253 electoral votes, shy of the 270 which is the magic number for the win. On the other hand, Donald Trump has only secured 213 electoral votes. Joe Biden has asserted that he is on course to win the US presidential election.

What are the impacts each candidate will have on Korea if they get elected? It will greatly affect three categories: diplomacy, economy, and security.

In diplomacy, the Trump administration is totally against China on the belief of protectionism. Since the trade-to-GDP ratio of South Korea is approximately 65% and we heavily rely on the United States and China, South Korea is one of the most affected countries in the U.S.-China trade war.

Since Biden has usually been negative about the Donald Trump administration's tariff policy on China, the market expects that the U.S.-China conflict will be eased if he becomes president. If the trade war is eased, the value of the yuan will rise. Experts predict that the appreciation of the yuan will also increase the value of the won.

If President Trump is re-elected, traditional energy companies including oil will benefit, and the eco-friendly energy industry will benefit if Biden gets elected.

Joe Biden 2020 could have a positive impact on the domestic industry, which declared the Green New Deal one step ahead. In particular, it is expected that there will be opportunities for growth in industries such as solar power generation, electric vehicles, and batteries.

The policies towards North Korea are quite different. Trump favors the ‘Top-down’ approach, where the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is based on a good relationship. In contrast, Biden prefers the ‘Bottom-up’ approach, where he is willing to ease sanctions on North Korea if Kim Jong-un agrees to reduce nuclear capability. The Moon administration prefers a top-down approach like Trump.

Defense cost sharing is one of the major issues for South Korea. President Trump insists that South Korea should pay more for the defense costs of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. Biden says excessive demands on the cost of U.S. troops in South Korea could cause a rift in the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

L.L.F reporter Suk-ho Jung