Asia

This paper examines policies in the renewables sector across various countries and where political tensions could generate suboptimal outcomes for the sector’s development. In its analysis of supply- and demand-side…

With North Korea becoming increasingly politically isolated, there are few channels through which the international community can remain engaged. Despite the distaste most have for Pyongyang politics, more than 24…

This paper compares Sino–South Korean management of bilateral economic and political tensions; it argues that China’s WTO entry has provided an external institutional framework for managing disputes on the economic…

On 19 December 2003, the leader of Libya, Col. Muammar El-Qaddafi, shocked the world by abruptly stating that his country was renouncing its attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction…

In 2010, a group of Asian countries made major strides toward economic integration with the launch of the Chang Mai Initiative Multilateralization. This currency swap arrangement has had a major…

With the recent season finale of The Walking Dead and the broadcast of his visit to South Korea with talk show host Conan O'Brien this past weekend, we look back at our…

This week our guest is noted scholar and North Korea watcher Dr. Stephan Haggard. Dr. Haggard is a Professor of Korea-Pacific Studies and director of the Korea-Pacific Program at the…

At KEI, we mainly focus on the relationship between the United States and South Korea, and their approaches toward North Korea. This week, we're taking a different look at the…

What Happened A July 2021 report from the Bank of Korea showed that housing prices in the country have surged by 47% since 2017. The Moon administration implemented a series of regulations over the past four years to cool the overheated housing market. The central bank chief expressed concerns that low interest rates - adopted to cope with the…

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korean music studios adapted to the public health crisis by moving K-pop concerts online. Building on the initial success of these online concerts, Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM aims to deliver an even more ambitious service to a global audience and potentially break into the platform industry…

What Happened Following a highly publicized bribery conviction, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was released from prison on parole. This ruling follows the acquittal of two executives at SK Chemical and Aekyung Industrial Co despite the sale of harmful products. In addition to these companies playing an essential role in maintaining a trade surplus, many average Koreans are…

What Happened Late last month, the two Koreas restored communications lines 13 months after Pyongyang cut off all communication lines to Seoul. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-Jong warned that conducting an annual summertime U.S.-ROK joint military exercise would hamper efforts to rebuild trust between the two Koreas. Despite the warning, South Korea decided to continue the military exercise…