Relationship dossier
South Korea
Venezuela
Relationship assessment
Earlier energy and infrastructure cooperation has been complicated by disagreement over Venezuela’s political leadership.
South Korea toward Venezuela
-15South Korea engaged Venezuela through bilateral energy and infrastructure cooperation. In 2019, the South Korean government recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president, a position at odds with Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Venezuela toward South Korea
+10Venezuela pursued bilateral cooperation with South Korea through energy and infrastructure agreements. The extent of Venezuelan government cooperation after South Korea’s 2019 recognition of Juan Guaidó is unclear.
Overall relationship
0The relationship has included practical bilateral cooperation in energy and infrastructure, but South Korea’s 2019 recognition of Juan Guaidó created a significant political divide. The known mix of cooperation and disagreement supports a broadly mixed assessment.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
South Korea and Venezuela have pursued bilateral cooperation, including agreements on energy and infrastructure. Relations became politically strained when South Korea recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president in 2019. The relationship combines earlier practical cooperation with a significant disagreement over Venezuela’s political legitimacy.
Areas of tension
- South Korea’s 2019 recognition of Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president conflicted with Nicolás Maduro’s government.
Key developments
The governments pursued bilateral agreements and cooperation in energy and infrastructure.
South Korea recognized Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral energy and infrastructure agreements are unclear.
- Details of Venezuelan government policy toward South Korea after the 2019 political dispute are limited.