That was brought into sharp focus Thursday when South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, host of the G-20 summit, was asked at a press conference about the impact of the Fed's decision.
Lee Myung-bak, South Korea's president-elect who is set to take office on February 25th, was cleared by a special prosecutor of involvement in a financial fraud in 2001.
South Korea's next president, whoever he or she is, will end Lee Myung-bak's hard line and seek to re-engage the North.
But budget austerity measures have not deterred South Korea from maintaining its commitment to its National Defense Reform 2020 plan, put in place in 2005 and revised last year by President Lee Myung-bak to enhance military capabilities, improve efficiency and build a military force prepared to meet 21st-century global challenges.
That afternoon, the Secretary-General met South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the presidential Blue House.
President Obama reportedly had an urgent telephone conversation with Lee Myung-bak, the president of South Korea.
Ms. Park seeks to reverse some of the hard-line tactics pursued by her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak.
President Lee Myung-bak sacked three of his ministers in an attempt to recoup his lost popularity.
According to one poll, only 30% of voters think President Lee Myung-bak is doing a good job.
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The administration's actions in the days leading up to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak announcement make this clear.
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South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, faces criticism at home for not having retaliated more robustly to last month's shelling.
President Lee Myung-bak praised what he called a "first step towards opening an era of space science in earnest".
Lee Myung-bak, who became president in 2008, is a former chief executive from within the Hyundai extended family of firms.
In a radio address Monday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made his first public statement about North Korea's latest nuclear test.
Ties between the two Koreas chilled considerably under Lee Myung-bak over his move to link aid to concessions on the nuclear issue.
Mr Obama and outgoing South Korea President Lee Myung-bak also held telephone talks, as did Mr Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Mr Roh's efforts while in office to redistribute wealth were reversed by his successor, Lee Myung-bak, a former boss of the Hyundai Group.
On October 13, 2011, President Obama will host President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea at the White House for a State Visit.
Earlier today, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and President Obama did something out of the ordinary for a state visit: They got out of Washington.
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President Lee Myung-bak and President Obama have developed a close relationship.
On the presidential campaign trail last fall, Ms. Park emphasized that her approach toward North Korea would be different from that of her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak.
In South Korea President Lee Myung-bak has bluntly implored the Bank of Korea to go slow in returning interest rates, now 2%, to more normal levels.
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South Korean President Lee Myung-bak cited the contributions he could offer to South Korea's efforts to draw the Winter Olympics in 2018 to the city of Pyeongchang.
South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, is expected to enjoy a state dinner at the White House next month, adding symbolic weight to the importance of the alliance.
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However, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak convened an emergency security meeting and urged the military to ensure that the naval clash did not escalate into something greater, Yonhap reported.
But South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, was equally keen.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has refused aid, trade and talks with North Korea until Pyongyang apologizes for its alleged sinking of a South Korean navy ship and shelling of Yeonpyong Island.
South Korea has traditionally been the North's biggest aid supplier, but President Lee Myung-bak has taken a harder line than his predecessors, arguing that aid should be more conditional on nuclear disarmament.
But rapprochement talks between the countries hit a wall after conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in early 2008, with a tougher stance toward the North than Kim and his successor, Roh Moo-hyun.
South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak got up before sunrise to watch Yang become the first player to defeat Woods at a major in which the American held a lead entering the last round and his office confirmed he telephoned Yang to offer his congratulations.
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