Professional Affiliation

M.A. in Political Science, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Expert Bio

Suna Jeong received both her B.A. and her M.A. in Political Science from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Her master’s thesis was on why China still received foreign aid. Before joining the Center, she was involved in many research projects in the field of international relations as a research assistant. Her primary research interests are the dynamics of development finances, ranging from the determinants of public and private international capital transfers to their effects and consequences on developing economies. Related interests are stakes and interactions of stakeholders involved in development at the regional and country level. She takes both qualitative and quantitative methods in her studies.

Wilson Center Project

Interactive and Iterative Process of Aid Allocation Decision: A Historical Comparison of US Aid Allocation to South Korea between under Rhee Syngman and under Park Chunghee Administration

Project Summary

While numerous studies on aid tend to conceptualize aid allocation decision as a unilateral process, emphasizing perspectives of donors, negotiation strategies that a recipient country might adopt to secure and represent their policy preferences in aid projects have been largely neglected. This research project proposes an alternative conceptualization of an interactive and iterative aid allocation process that better captures the reality. In doing so, it identifies strategies that a recipient adopts to advance its development objectives, investigates sources of bargaining leverage for an aid recipient country in negotiations, and highlights the degrees of control that a recipient exercises over policies agreed upon in negotiations. The research explores a case study of South Korea, and compares negotiating strategies Rhee Syngman and Park Chunghee administrations adopted.

Major Publications

Suna Jeong and Youngwan Kim. (2017). The Determinants of Chinese Foreign Aid to the Pacific Island Countries. Social Science Review, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 68-88 (KCI, In Korean)