Asia

With negotiations running down to the wire, Korean and American negotiators announced that they reached a deal just before President George W. Bush’s trade promotion authority expired at 11:59 pm…

While foreign direct investment (FDI) into South Korea has been waning, outward Korean investment has been robust over the past year. According to The Korea Times, foreign investment in Korea…

This past June, President Bush made a series of telephone calls to leaders in the region calling on them to use their influence with Pyongyang in an effort to halt…

Korea’s labor unions are known for their militancy. This characteristic is believed to be the result of past political repression and perceived economic inequality. Since the 1960s, Korea has achieved…

    In the mid-1990s, North Korea experienced a famine that by some estimates wiped out 10 percent of the population. Though many at the time thought the regime would…

      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…

On May 29, 2025, in what will likely be his last public speech as a government official, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul reviewed the accomplishments of and challenges faced by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. Cho noted the challenges of navigating deepening international conflict and geopolitical rivalry. In addition, as a cabinet member in…

KEI will hold a hybrid event on June 6 with former U.S. ambassadors to South Korea and examine implications of the election’s outcome on U.S.-Korea relations. Click here to learn more and register to attend. South Korean voters will elect a new president on June 3, 2025, following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk…

With the removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol from office, South Koreans head to the polls next week to pick his successor. The leading candidate is Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, a progressive politician with a track record of being critical of Japan. In 2023, he engaged in a twenty-four-day hunger strike to protest…

Economic data for South Korea from recent months, analyzed by the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), offers an early indicator of how U.S.-imposed tariffs from April 2 might impact Korea’s economy and U.S.-Korea trade. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports went into effect in February, followed by tariffs on autos on April…