Please join us for a conversation with experts from the UK, Korea, and the U.S. to discuss whether the G7 Summit achieved its goals.
June 9, 2021
Yong Kwon, Mark Tokola, Lee Hye-min, John Nilsson-Wright, Susan Thornton
A discussion on the summit outcomes and what they might mean for U.S.-Korea relations in the final year of President Moon’s term in office.
May 18, 2021
Join us for a conversation with distinguished speakers from United States Department of State, Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the United States, and the Korean Economic Institute
January 28, 2021
Troy Stangarone, Marc Knapper, Bob Rolfe, YoungJae Kim
Shifting the Burden: The U.S.-Korea Alliance amid Washington’s New Approach to Military Cost-Sharing
Negotiations to reach a new military burden-sharing agreement between Washington and Seoul before the existing one expires at the end of the year are causing widespread concern in South Korea. The Special Measures Agreement (SMA) – determining how much South Korea contributes to the cost of hosting U.S. military forces – has been revisited every few years since 1991, but talks been more divisive under Trump administration. When the previous SMA was set to expire at the end of 2018, the U.S. reportedly asked for a 100% increase, before settling on an 8.2% jump to be addressed again at the end of 2019 – rather than the five-year increments between the most recent agreements. Washington has amplified its position this year by asking Seoul to quadruple its contributions by December 31, raising alarms about the future of the alliance among the Korean public and policymakers.