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70 Years of the US-ROK Alliance: The Past and the Future

2023 US-ROK Policy Forum

Date & Time

Tuesday
Apr. 18, 2023
9:00am – 1:30pm ET

Location

6th Floor Flom Auditorium, Woodrow Wilson Center

Overview

Agenda

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Korea Center and the Korean Association of International Studies (KAIS) hosted the 2023 US-ROK Policy Forum in advance of the April 26th US-ROK presidential summit. As President Joe Biden prepares to welcome South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to Washington, D.C., we looked back over the past 70 years of US-ROK relations, assessing progress and previewing discussion topics likely to be at the forefront of President Yoon’s state visit.

Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the US-ROK alliance, the Korea Center and KAIS gathered US and South Korean experts to assess the key issues in the alliance. The first panel assessed the continuing geostrategic concerns facing the United States and South Korea, including US-China strategic competition and the implications for South Korea, the growing North Korea threat, how to improve US-South Korea-Japan trilateral relations, and the regional implications of the ongoing Russo-Ukraine war. The second panel went beyond security to offer insights into US-ROK cooperation on economic and trade issues.

The keynote address was delivered by Edgard D. Kagan, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council.

A luncheon reception followed the conference with an address by Ms. Seohyun Lee, North Korean defector and human rights advocate. Please click the word agenda above to see the full schedule for the event.

Moderators

Sue Mi Terry

Sue Mi Terry

Former Director of the Asia Program and the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy
Headshot photo of Scott Snyder

Scott Snyder

Senior Fellow for Korea Studies and Director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy, Council on Foreign Relations

Panelists

Victor Cha

Victor Cha

Senior Vice President and Korea Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies; Vice Dean for Faculty and Graduate Affairs and D.S. Song-KF Professor of Government, Georgetown University
A photo of Allison Hooker

Allison Hooker

Senior Vice President, American Global Strategies
Headshot for Yungwoo Chun

Yungwoo Chun

Chairman, Korean Peninsula Future Forum
Andrew Yeo

Andrew Yeo

Senior Fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair in Korea Studies, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, Brookings Institution
Headshot for Kuyoun Chung

Kuyoun Chung

Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Kangwon National University
Headshot image of Wonho Yeon

Wonho Yeon

Head of Economic Security Team and Research Fellow, Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Headshot of Wendy Cutler

Wendy Cutler

Vice President, The Asia Society; Former Acting Deputy U.S. Trade Representative
Headshot photo of Matthew P. Goodman

Matthew P. Goodman

Senior Vice President for Economics, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Headshot of Dr. Miyeon Oh

Miyeon Oh

Director and Senior Faculty Lead of Korea Studies, SAIS Johns Hopkins; Adjunct International Defense Researcher, RAND Corporation
Headshot for Yukyung Yeo

Yukyung Yeo

Professor, Department of International Studies, Kyung Hee University

Hosted By

Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy

The Center for Korean History and Public Policy was established in 2015 with the generous support of the Hyundai Motor Company and the Korea Foundation to provide a coherent, long-term platform for improving historical understanding of Korea and informing the public policy debate on the Korean peninsula in the United States and beyond.  Read more

Indo-Pacific Program

The Indo-Pacific Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on US interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region.   Read more

Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.