Asia

In recent years, North Korea has faced economic shocks from UN sanctions and the pandemic. As Dr. Jongkyu Lee (Senior Fellow at the Korea Development Institute) writes in his new…

Following a record number of North Korean missile launches, as well as tests by South Korea, assertions have been widely and uncritically made that Seoul is participating in an inter-Korean…

Although the Korean Peninsula has been divided for over 70 years, North and South have not been able to make lasting progress in terms of reconciliation. While there are multiple…

Why is South Korea pilot-testing its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and what made it shift from non-issuance to consideration? This paper investigates the Bank of Korea (BOK)’s CBDC-related developments…

In this episode we speak with Doug Goudie, Director of International Trade Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). Mr. Goudie draws from his experiences to share his perspective…

In this episode we hear from Tami Overby, Vice President for Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and former President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Ms.…

Now in its tenth year, KEI’s Opinion Leaders Seminar (OLS) is an annual gathering of some of the world’s foremost policymakers and scholars on the U.S.-South Korean alliance. In this…

An exclusive interview with Dr. Alon Levkowitz, author of the most recent edition of the Korea Economic Institute’s Academic Paper Series. His paper, titled “The Republic of Korea and the…

Two years into his tenure, President Yoon Suk Yeol seems proud of his efforts to realize his foreign policy vision. “The global pivotal state diplomacy that we have put into practice since the launch of this government has become the government's signature policy,” he told chiefs of missions during a banquet, according to the Yonhap…

The outcome of South Korea’s parliamentary elections seems undeniable. The opposition Democratic Party (DP) won a convincing victory and together with its progressive allies will hold a commanding 192-seat majority in the 300 seat National Assembly. Former DP presidential candidate and current party leader Lee Jae-myung is cemented, for now, as the likely presidential standard bearer when…

Innovation has played a vital role in Korea’s rapid economic development. Initially led by the introduction of new technology from abroad, Korea has achieved sustained progress toward the global innovation frontier. Korea’s innovation inputs in terms of human capital and research spending are among the highest in the world. It also has the highest share…

Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been one of the defining geopolitical moments of the modern era—and while not as headline grabbing as its ramifications for Europe and the so-called ‘BRICS’ (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) agenda, its impact on the Korean Peninsula has been profound. Vladimir Putin’s war has significantly impacted…