Victor Cha is senior vice president for Asia and Korea Chair at CSIS. He is also the distinguished university professor and professor of government at Georgetown University. He was appointed in 2021 by the Biden administration to serve on the Defense Policy Board in an advisory role to the secretary of defense. From 2004 to 2007, he served on the National Security Council (NSC) and was responsible for Japan, Korea, Australia/New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations. Dr. Cha was U.S. deputy head of delegation at the Six Party Talks and received two outstanding service commendations during his tenure at the NSC. He is the author of seven books, including the award-winning Alignment Despite Antagonism: The United States-Korea-Japan Security Triangle (Stanford, 1999) (winner of the 2000 Ohira Book Prize), The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future (Ecco, 2012) selected by Foreign Affairs as a “Best Book on the Asia-Pacific for 2012", Powerplay: Origins of the American Alliance System in Asia (Princeton, 2018), and Korea: A New History of South and North (Yale, 2023). Dr. Cha is a two-time Fulbright scholar, former Olin fellow at Harvard, and former Hoover, CISAC, and Koret fellow at Stanford. He currently serves on 10 editorial boards of academic journals and is coeditor of the Contemporary Asia book series at Columbia University Press. He serves on the board of the National Endowment for Democracy and is a senior fellow at the George W. Bush Institute. He is also a foreign affairs contributor for MSNBC and NBC News. Dr. Cha received his Ph.D., MIA and BA degree from Columbia University and a BA Honors from Oxford University.
David Kang is Maria Crutcher Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California, with appointments in both the School of International Relations and the Marshall School of Business. At USC he is also director of the Korean Studies Institute. Kang’s latest book is “State Formation Through Emulation: The East Asian Model,” which was published in 2022 by Cambridge University Press. He is also author of “American Grand Strategy and East Asian Security in the 21st Century,” “East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute”; “China Rising: Peace, Power, and Order in East Asia”; “Crony Capitalism: Corruption and Development in South Korea and the Philippines”; and “Nuclear North Korea: A Debate on Engagement Strategies” (co-authored with Victor Cha). Kang has published numerous scholarly articles in journals such as International Organization and International Security, and his co-authored article “Testing Balance of Power Theory in World History” was awarded “Best article, 2007-2009,” by the European Journal of International Relations. Kang has also written opinion pieces in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as writing a monthly column for the Joongang Ilbo in Korean. A former Fullbright Scholar, Kang received an A.B. with honors from Stanford University and his Ph.D. from Berkeley.
Stephan Haggard is a research professor, Lawrence and Sallye Krause Distinguished Professor Emeritus and serves as the Director Emeritus for the Korea-Pacific Program, and Research Director for Global Governance at the University of California Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC). He teaches courses on the international relations of the Asia-Pacific and Korean peninsula at GPS covering political economy as well as security issues. He has done extensive research on North Korea in particular. In addition, he has a long-standing interest in transitions to and from democratic rule and the current phenomenon of democratic backsliding. His most recent books include “Developmental States” (2018) on the rapid growth of East Asia. His work on North Korea includes three books with Marcus Noland: “Famine in North Korea: Markets, Aid and Reform” (2007), “Witness to Transformation: Refugee Insights into North Korea” (2011) and “Hard Target: Sanctions, Inducements and the Case of North Korea” (2017). His work on transitions to and from democratic rule includes “Dictators and Democrats: Masses, Elites and Regime Change” (2016) and “Backsliding: Democratic Regress in the Contemporary World” (2021). He has provided commentary for major news outlets, such as CNN International and writes for the Korea Economic Institute's Peninsula blog. He is editor emeritus of the Journal of East Asian Studies.
CHOI Kang is the President at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Previously, he was the dean of Planning and Assessment at the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. In 2012, Dr. Choi served as the president at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS). He was also a professor and director general for American Studies at IFANS, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, and senior director for Policy Planning and Coordination on the National Security Council Secretariat. He holds several advisory board memberships including: the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Unification of the National Assembly; Ministry of National Defense; Ministry of Unification; Air Force Development Committee; and the National Unification Advisory Council. Dr. Choi was also a South Korean delegate to the Four-Party Talks. He writes extensively on the ROK-US alliance, North Korean military affairs, inter-Korean relations, crisis management, and multilateral security cooperation. Dr. Choi received his B.A. from Kyunghee University, M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his Ph.D. in political science from Ohio State University.
LEE Sook Jong is President Emeritus and Senior Fellow of the East Asia Institute and a Professor at Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul. She served ten years as President of the East Asia Institute, an independent Seoul-based think tank. She holds a number of advisory positions in the South Korean government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Lee also participates as member of the Trilateral Commission, Council of Councils, and many other transnational networks on research and policy studies. Since 2015, she is serving as a Steering Committee member of the World Movement for Democracy. She created the Asia Democracy Research Network with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy and is representing the Network as a Co-representative. Her research interests include multilateralism, democracy/civil societies, and foreign policy nexus with domestic politics and public opinion. Previously, Dr. Lee was research fellow at the Sejong Institute, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, professorial lecturer at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, and visiting fellow at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies. Her recent publications include Transforming Global Governance with Middle Power Diplomacy: South Korea’s Role in the 21st Century (ed. 2016), Keys to Successful Presidency in South Korea (ed. 2013 and 2016), Korea’s Role in Global Governance for Development Cooperation (ed. 2012), Public Diplomacy and Soft Power in East Asia (eds. 2011), Japan and East Asia: Regional Cooperation and Community Building (eds. 2011), and Toward Managed Globalization: The Korean Experience (eds. 2010). Dr. Lee received her Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University.
Mark Lippert is a senior advisor (non-resident) with the Korea Chair. He had a distinguished career in the United States government that spanned approximately two decades and included series of senior-level positions across multiple agencies. From 2014-2017, he served as the United States ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of Korea, based in Seoul. He previously held positions in the Department of Defense, including as chief of staff to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (2013-2014) and as assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs (2012-2013), the top official in the Pentagon for all Asia issues. Lippert also worked in the White House as chief of staff to the National Security Council in 2009. Lippert served in the uniformed military. An intelligence officer in the United States Navy, he mobilized to active duty from 2009 to 2011 for service with Naval Special Warfare (SEALs) Development Group that included deployments to Afghanistan and other regions. From 2007 to 2008, he deployed as an intelligence officer with Seal Team One to Anbar Province, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Earlier in his career, Lippert served as a staff member in the United States Senate, where he worked on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for then-Senator Obama; the Senate Appropriations Committee State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee for Senator Leahy, and for other members of the Senate. His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal for his service in Iraq, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Basic Parachutist Badge. He is also the recipient of the Department of Defense’s Distinguished Public Service Award and the Department of the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University with a B.A. in political science and holds an M.A. in international policy studies from the same institution. He speaks Korean and also studied Mandarin Chinese at Beijing University.
Evan Ramstad has served as one of the leading analysts of the economic and business scene in Korea. A journalist since 1987, he is currently deputy business editor on the business news desk of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Before that, he was chief Korea correspondent for the Wall Street Journal from 2006 to 2013. During that time, he covered the full range of South Korea’s alliance, trade, security, business, social, and political issues. He made numerous appearances in South Korean and international media during that time and gave lectures to university and civic groups around the country. Mr. Ramstad previously wrote for the Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong and Dallas and for the Associated Press in Dallas, Minneapolis, Washington, and New York. He grew up in Grinnell, Iowa, where his first job was at the town radio station. He was a licensed FCC radio operator before the industry was deregulated. He holds a B.A in political science and journalism from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
Kathleen Stephens was President and CEO of the Korean Economic Institute of America (KEI) from 2018 to 2023. Ambassador Stephens was a career diplomat in the United States Foreign Service, 1978-2015. She was the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea 2008-2011, the first woman and first Korean speaker to serve in that position. Other overseas assignments included postings to China, Korea, former Yugoslavia, Portugal, Northern Ireland, where she was U.S. Consul General in Belfast (1995-1998) during the negotiations culminating in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, and India, where she was U.S. Charge ‘d Affaires (2014-2015). Ambassador Stephens served in a number of policy positions in Washington at the Department of State and the White House. These included acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (2012), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (2005-2007), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs (2003-2005), and National Security Council Director for European Affairs at the Clinton White House. Ambassador Stephens was William J. Perry Fellow for Korea at Stanford University from 2015 to 2018. She has also been Endowed Chair Professor for Language and Diplomacy at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, and Senior State Department Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. She chairs the board of The Korea Society and is Vice-chair of the Board of Trustees of The Asia Foundation. She is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Council on Foreign Relations. Ambassador Stephens studied at Prescott College, the University of Hong Kong, and Oxford University, and holds a BA Honors from Prescott. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Korea 1975-1977. She holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
KIM Sung-han is Professor of International Relations at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS). He served as the ROK National Security Advisor in 2022-23 and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2012-13. In 2013-2014, Dr. Kim was the Chair of World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction). He also served as Director of Ilmin International Relations Institute, Korea University and Dean of GSIS from 2017 to 2021. Before then, he had been a professor from 1994 to 2007 at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade. He served as the President of the Korean National Committee of CSCAP (Council on Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific); Vice President of the Korean Association of International Studies; President of Korean Association of American Politics (KAAP); and Chairman of the Vision Council for the ROK-U.S. Security Policy Initiative. After the North Korean military attack to the Cheonan naval corvette in March 2010, he advised as a member of the Presidential Commission for National Security Review (May – August 2010) and the Presidential Commission for Defense Reform (July – December 2010). He received Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Texas at Austin in 1992. His recent contributed articles to scholarly journals include “Comprehensive Extended Deterrence with the ROK” “Denuclearizing North Korea: Time for Plan B?,” and “From Blood Alliance to Strategic Alliance.”
Andrew Yeo is a senior fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Asia Policy Studies. He is also a professor of politics at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Yeo is co-editor of the forthcoming book “Great Power Competition and Overseas Bases: Chinese, Russian, and American Force Posture in the 21st Century” (Brookings Institution Press, forthcoming). He is also the author or co-editor of five other books including “Asia’s Regional Architecture: Alliances and Institutions in the Pacific Century” (Stanford University Press, 2019), “State, Society, and Markets in North Korea” (Cambridge University Press 2021), “North Korean Human Rights: Activists and Networks” (Cambridge University Press 2018); “Activists, Alliances, and Anti-U.S. Base Protests” (Cambridge University Press 2011); and “Living in an Age of Mistrust: An Interdisciplinary Study of Declining Trust in Contemporary Society and Politics and How to Get it Back” (Routledge Press 2017). Yeo’s scholarly publications can be found in International Studies Quarterly, European Journal of International Relations, Perspectives on Politics, Comparative Politics, Comparative Strategy, Journal of East Asian Studies, Asian Studies Review, and International Relations of the Asia-Pacific among others. His other writings have appeared in the Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The Hill, The National Interest, and The Diplomat. He has offered commentary in a variety of media outlets including CNN, NBC, Fox News, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, Channel News Asia, Arirang TV, Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Economist, South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera, Japan Times, Korea Times, Chosun Ilbo, Hankyoreh, Kyunghyang Shinmun, and Joongang Ilbo. Yeo is a member of the National Committee on North Korea. He is part of the first cohort of the Mansfield-Luce Asia Scholars Network (2020-21) and the first cohort of the Korea Foundation-Mansfield Foundation Scholar-Policy Nexus (2013-14). He is a two-time recipient of a U.S. Fulbright scholar award conducting research as a senior scholar in the Philippines in 2020, and as a graduate student in South Korea in 2005-06. Yeo received his doctorate in government from Cornell University, and bachelor’s in psychology and international studies from Northwestern University.
YOON Young-kwan is the chairman of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. He is also a professor emeritus at Department of Political Science and International Relations at the Seoul National University. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea (2003-2004). Before joining the faculty of Seoul National University in 1990, he taught at University of California at Davis for 3 years. Dr. Yoon established and served as the president of the Korean Institute for Future Strategies, a private non-profit research institute. He was also the founding member and the director of the Korea Peace Institute. He has also been a board member of UniKorea Foundation. He served as Korea’s eminent representative to and the Co-chair of the East Asia Vision Group II (ASEAN+3 Summit) (2011- 2012) and chairman of the National Assembly Advisory Council for Diplomatic Affairs (2019 – 2020). He was Senior Visiting Scholar at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School (Dec. 2020 – Jul. 2021) and Kim Koo Visiting Professor at Department of Government, Harvard University (Jul. 2021- Dec. 2021). He published numerous books and articles in the field of international political economy, Korea’s foreign policy, and inter-Korean relations, some of which appeared in World Politics, International Political Science Review, Asian Survey, The National Interest, and Project Syndicate. Dr. Yoon received his B.A. and M.A. in international relations from Seoul National University, and a Ph.D. in international studies from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University.