Korea, South

Public opinion can help to both shape and inform public policy. A president with strong approval numbers across ideological divides has significant scope to make policy decisions. While a national…

      Over the last decade, China has become an increasingly important country for South Korea has it has emerged as Seoul’s largest trading partner and a leading player…

    On April 8, North Korea withdrew all of its workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, temporarily placing on hold the last form of cooperation between North and South…

South Korea’s nuclear energy industry has for decades been facilitated through close cooperation with counterparts in the United States under what is known as a “123 Agreement”.  Today South Korea’s…

Major political developments at the end of 2024 have ushered in new unpredictability in the US-South Korea relationship for 2025. First came the re-election of Donald Trump in the United States, followed by dramatic events in South Korea that are still evolving after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law. Deep political division…

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, and his subsequent impeachment on December 14 have plunged the country into its worst political crisis in nearly 40 years, with some signs of a negative economic impact. The economy was already showing signs of weakness before the December political…

The last thing South Korean monetary officials need to hear about is the US Department of the Treasury’s recent addition of South Korea to its currency monitoring lists. The timing could hardly be worse, as it was made in November prior to the drastic drop in the value of the won, partly driven by various…

The economic relationship between the United States and South Korea is stronger than ever, but President Donald Trump’s promises of higher US tariffs pose risks to the relationship. In 2023, trade between the two countries in goods and services was valued at 256 billion USD, and South Korea became one of the largest sources of…

Please join KEI and KIEP for a discussion about the first 10 years of KORUS and the future of the U.S.-Korea economic relationship.