Professional Affiliation

Associate Research Fellow, Korea Institute for Defense Analyses

Expert Bio

Amy Paik is an associate research fellow of the Global Strategy Division under the Center for Security and Strategy at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. She worked at Microsoft Korea's General Manager’s Team and the US Embassy Seoul Foreign Commercial Section before joining a government think tank in South Korea in 2013. She studies contemporary issues on the Korean Peninsula, US-Korea alliance, defense technologies, and the legal challenges of undersea cable infrastructure.

She is an academic and practitioner who has presented policy briefs to congressional staff members on Capitol Hill, at the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, the ROK Ministry of National Defense, and the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Paik's contributions to international relations have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards. The Munich Security Conference and Körber-Stiftung selected her as a Munich Young Leader in 2018. In 2014, she won the Minister Commendation from the ROK Ministry of National Defense for contributing to the Seoul Defense Dialogue as an agenda setter. In 2008, she received the Ambassador's Appreciation Award from the US State Department for successfully hosting an automobile manufacturing trade mission at the US Embassy in Seoul.

Expertise

• International Law 
• Law of Armed Conflict
• Maritime Security 
• Cyber Security 
• Science and Technology
• Security and Defense

 

Wilson Center Project

A study of international law relating to undersea cables and pipelines: Does current law adequately protect them from attacks or sabotage in international water

 

Project Summary

On May 3, 2023, a warning was issued by NATO’s assistant secretary general for intelligence and security, David Cattler. He expressed grave concerns over the potential targeting of undersea cables and pipelines by Russia, a move that could disrupt Western life and exploit the nations supporting Ukraine. This research will compare the international regulatory frameworks for undersea communication energy cables and oil and gas pipelines. Suggestions on how to improve international law that does not sufficiently protect our global infrastructures, especially when cables or pipelines in international waters are attacked maliciously, such as by a physical cut as a tactic in hybrid war will be provided. Whether international law is prepared to address this type of perpetrator will also be examined. The significance of the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage in 2022 cannot be overstated. This event, which cost almost a trillion dollars daily in undersea communication, served as a wake-up call for world leaders. It revealed the alarming lack of preparedness in international society and the urgent need for improved international law to protect our global infrastructures. This research aims to find how prepared we are to hold perpetrators responsible in case of a malicious attack on cables and pipelines in international waters.

Major Publications

• Amy Paik, "South Korea: a Catalyst for Fixing Laws on Undersea Cables," The Peninsula, Korea Economic Institute of America, March 8, 2024.
• Amy Paik, "Countermeasure in Cyberspace," Korea JoongAng Daily, June 21, 2020.
• Amy Paik, "Treaty Law Study on ROK-US Alliance for Betterment in Future Focusing on Responsibility for Environmental Cleanup at Military Base," Korean Journal of International Law, Vol. 64, No.1. (2019).
• Amy Paik, "Legal Perspective on Creating the ‘DMZ World Eco-Peace Park’,” Korea Defense Issue & Analysis, Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, Issue 14. (2016).