South Korea | Overview

May will be marked by election cycles in Australia, Burundi, Poland and South Korea, producing various degrees of second-order impacts. Social unrest will be a key feature of the security environment in Argentina, Mexico and Kenya. Diplomatic issues will be at the fore in Central Asia and the Middle East, with violent retaliations possible. Managers should take account of security operations in Ecuador and Mexico, and ongoing conflict in South Sudan. The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season is about to get underway, and now is the time to ensure preparations are in place for workforce safety and business continuity.

This Monthly Security Forecast analyses the security landscape in Congo (DRC) amid clashes between the rebels and the security forces while political tensions simmer in Zimbabwe and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Anti-government protests in Argentina, Panama and Peru will persist in April while Canada plans for snap elections. Mid-term elections in the Philippines will be marred by political violence while situation remains volatile in Sudan and Syria. Russia and Ukraine continue to vie for military advantage as peace talks continue. Additionally, APAC countries brace for a hotter-than-normal summer amid water and power outages.

Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency brings significant changes in the superpower’s foreign policy in Asia and the Pacific. Organisations must proactively prepare for considerable alterations to the operating environments due to Trump’s policies towards China, tariff wars and regional geopolitical tensions. Degradations and improvements with respect to risks to exposed personnel and organisations are both plausible outcomes. This Insight Report uses structured analysis to provide predictive judgments by examining the administration’s ideological doctrines and likely foreign policy objectives as well as their interplay with regional drivers of insecurity. The report concludes with recommendations for risk managers to prepare for and respond to the shifting landscape.