KEI Live

KEI Live

By Korea Economic Institute of AmericaNewsGovernmentPolitics
Download on the App Store

KEI Live episodes

  • Promoting Economic Cooperation at APEC Against the Backdrop of Geopolitical Uncertainty

    Audio issues resolve at 8:00

     

    The Donald Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs has shaken the global trading order. At the same time, geopolitical rivalries among major powers are intensifying as Trump attempts to end the military conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and the U.S.-China geoeconomic competition appears to be deepening as both sides test their respective economic leverage on each other while enhancing their respective supply chain resiliency.

    Thus, South Korea assumes responsibility for hosting the APEC business and leaders’ meetings at a complex moment. The role of multilateral institutions in promoting international trade is under assault from rising tariffs, making the task of easing barriers to economic cooperation more difficult. The APEC summit in South Korea will be the first major multilateral economic meeting to occur following the Trump administration’s imposition of universal tariffs. Furthermore, the APEC summit is a potential venue for the first meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a moment when a stable framework for managing U.S.-China economic relations has not yet been established.

    Following the conclusion of the first summit between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, KEI will host a distinguished panel of Korean speakers, who will share their perspectives on the geoeconomic and geopolitical forces shaping South Korea’s approach to hosting the APEC leaders’ summit.

    [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]

    1 hr 30 min
  • Trilateralism Through Transition: Prospects for Strengthening U.S.-South Korea-Japan Partnership
    On August 18, 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida convened at Camp David for the first standalone trilateral summit between the three countries. The three leaders reaffirmed and deepened consultative mechanisms, security and defense cooperation, and regional cooperative initiatives. All three countries have since undergone leadership transitions. The future of the trilateral relationship now lies with new leadership in each of the three countries.
     
    Please join the Korea Economic Institute of America and the Mansfield Foundation for a timely event held on the second anniversary of the Camp David Summit.
     
    [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
    1 hr 15 min
  • South Korea’s New President and Prospects for U.S.-Korea Relations: A View from Former Ambassadors
    On June 3, South Koreans elected Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung as the country’s next president. He was inaugurated amid deep domestic political polarization and uncertainty in external trade and security dynamics. How the new leader navigates such internal and external conditions has important implications for the U.S.-South Korea relationship and regional dynamics of the Indo-Pacific.
     
    Please join a distinguished panel of former U.S. ambassadors to South Korea to analyze the election outcome and implications for the alliance. Moderated by KEI President and CEO Scott Snyder, Ambassadors Philip Goldberg (2022–2025), Harry Harris (2018–2021), and Kathleen Stephens (2008–2011) discuss these topics and more.
     
    [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
    1 hr 4 min
  • From Peaceful Unification to Two Koreas? Paradigm Shifts in Inter-Korean Relations
    For decades, inter-Korean relations have oscillated between confrontation and cautious engagement, grounded in a shared yet contested aspiration of eventual peaceful unification. This aspiration, rooted in nationalist ideals and constitutional mandates on both sides of the 38th parallel, has shaped the political lexicon and security posture of both Seoul and Pyongyang throughout. Yet developments since the beginning of last year suggest that North Korea under Kim Jong Un is abandoning the peaceful reunification paradigm altogether. At the turn of 2024, Pyongyang publicly reframed the Republic of Korea not as a compatriot regime but as a separate, hostile state. Speaking at a session of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, Kim issued orders to reify that political decision in the country’s society, military, and economy. The pivot marks a potentially irreversible rupture in inter-Korean relations — one with consequences not only for the Korean Peninsula but also for regional geopolitics. This article explores three interrelated dimensions of that apparently transformative policy turn. First, it examines the nature, drivers, and implementation of North Korea’s paradigm shift on unification and reconciliation. Second, it analyzes the spectrum of South Korean political responses, from government policy to public sentiment. Finally, it reflects on the potential long-term implications of this shift for the future of the peninsula and the broader security environment in Northeast Asia.
     
    [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
    1 hr
  • The Globalization of K-Culture
    KEI Operations Manager Mai Pressley sits down with Areum Jeong, assistant professor of Korean Studies at Arizona State University, and Jeanie Chang, a licensed therapist and founder of “Noona’s Noonchi,” to discuss the global impact of Korean culture, what attracts international fans, and how domestic social issues are portrayed in popular culture and resonate abroad.
     
    [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
    1 hr 6 min
  • Beyond the Demographic Cliff: Economic Adaptation in Hyper-Aged Korea
    KEI is pleased to host an exclusive event, “Beyond the Demographic Cliff: Economic Adaptation in Hyper-Aged Korea,” which examines how South Korea can redesign its economic structures to sustain prosperity and promote national security under conditions of demographic maturity.
     
    KEI Non-Resident Fellow Darcie Draudt-Véjares will discuss this research into South Korea’s demographics and help attendees better understand how and why South Korea’s efforts to reverse its world-low fertility rates have failed.
     
    By 2070, Korea’s population is projected to shrink by 27%, with older adults comprising nearly half the total. But the country can also adapt to this new reality, prioritizing age-smart industrial policy and retooling national strategies around longevity and capital efficiency. This includes increasing investment in financial literacy, pension equity, and regional specialization. Dr. Draudt-Véjares’s full report on these pathways forward will be featured in the spring/summer issue of KEI’s flagship journal, Korea Policy, due out in early June.
     
    Dr. Ellen Kim, KEI’s Director of Academic Programs, will host this hybrid panel event on Monday, May 19, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT at the KEI event space in Washington, D.C. and live on YouTube.
     
    [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
    59 min
  • Unpacking South Korea’s 2025 Presidential Election
    Voters will soon elect a new leader for South Korea, who will shape the country’s economy, domestic politics, and foreign policy for the next half-decade. This event will help attendees better understand the major fault lines in the presidential election, identify key issues for voters, and interpret what each leading candidate could mean for the U.S.-South Korea relationship.
     
    KEI President and CEO Scott Snyder will moderate a discussion between three leading U.S. and South Korean journalists who will offer informed, on-the-ground perspectives on the presidential frontrunners. The conversation will explore the factors shaping the election, including economic challenges, national security concerns, and regional dynamics, along with generational and other divides among the electorate.
     
    [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
    1 hr 2 min
  • South Korea’s Geoeconomic Strategy: Industrial Policy in Comparative Context
    KEI is pleased to hold a program on South Korea’s Geoeconomic Strategy: Industrial Policy in Comparative Context. Like other countries, South Korea faces an increasingly uncertain and fractious global political economy marked by the exclusionary trade and investment policies, export controls, and a hardening of geopolitical fault lines. In this context, South Korea—and Korean firms—must consider a range of industrial policies as part of its broader geoeconomic strategy.
     
    Please come join KEI’s program with KEI’s Non-resident Fellow Dr. Sunhyung Lee, which offers a discussion on the evolution of South Korea’s industrial policies in comparison to those of the United States, China, and Japan as well as patterns in the investment flows of South Korean firms. Dr. Lee’s research will be featured in the spring/summer issue of KEI’s flagship journal, Korea Policy, due to be published in digital format in early June.
     
    [This material is distributed by KEI on behalf of the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]
    1 hr
  • Recalibration in the Indo-Pacific: Perspectives from the Region

    [KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the KIEP, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]

    KEI is pleased to hold a program titled, Recalibration in the Indo-Pacific: Perspectives from the Region. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House and ongoing U.S.-China strategic competition raises critical questions for U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific, including: Will narrowing strategic space between the United States and China force regional states into increasingly challenging foreign policy dilemmas? Alternatively, will regional states assert agency and seek greater autonomy? To what degree are we already in a multipolar international order and, if so, what affect will an intensifying U.S.-China competition have on that order?

    Please come join KEI’s program with regional experts, which offers a two-part panel discussion featuring South Korea, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, and Singapore’s perspectives on these and other important questions facing the region. The panelists’ research will be featured in the spring/summer 2025 issue of KEI’s flagship journal, Korea Policy, due to be published in digital format in early June.

    2 hr 20 min
  • Siloed No More: The U.S.-ROK Alliance and a Taiwan Conflict

    [KEI is registered under the FARA as an agent of the KIEP, a public corporation established by the government of the Republic of Korea. Additional information is available at the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC.]

    KEI is pleased to host an exclusive event titled Siloed No More: The U.S.-ROK Alliance and a Taiwan Conflict, which examines whether and how the U.S.-ROK alliance is situated to respond to a potential conflict over Taiwan.

    KEI Fellow and Director of Academic Affairs Dr. Clint Work will discuss this project, which builds upon previous research on Seoul and Washington’s rhetorical alignment on the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

    Alexis Turek, Research Assistant at the Coalition for Defense of Taiwan (CDOT), a joint initiative between the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), will join Dr. Work on stage and offer insights into how his findings fit into broader strategic thinking about Taiwan from a U.S. perspective.

    Through dozens of interviews with U.S. and ROK current and former government officials, think tank experts, and academics—as well as open-source research—Dr. Work will distill insights on the evolution and state of U.S.-ROK alliance discussions on a Taiwan conflict; key challenges obstructing such discussions; and critical variables and dynamics the alliance would have to consider and navigate in the event of a contingency.

    KEI will publish an executive summary of Dr. Work’s research as well as the full special report concurrent with the event.

    1 hr

About KEI Live

From the publisher's feed

KEI Live is the official podcast feed for the Korea Economic Institute of America’s live panels and events. Hear panels and discussions covering Korean policy, economics, culture, and more,…