Commentary On March 9, the Biden administration may have felt that it dodged a bullet when conservative Yoon Suk-yeol was elected president of the Republic of Korea (ROK, aka South Korea) for a five-year term. Unlike his defeated leftist opponent and the previous Moon Jae-in administration, Yoon strongly supports the ROK-U.S. alliance. Its military component favors a tough stance toward North Korea, is suspicious of China, and is even willing to get relations with Japan back on track. Now American and South Korean alliance managers can get to work rebuilding defenses—and doing what’s necessary to handle North Korea while keeping an eye on China’s steadily expanding military might. Focusing on defense is important—and essential. But the Americans should also pay close attention to the South Korean economy. This will do as much to bolster the alliance as anything on the defense front. You see, Yoon and the conservatives (by definition …