KEI Live

The past year has introduced both expanded opportunities and unprecedented volatilities to the U.S.-South Korea relationship. From nuclear submarine cooperation and a new investment agreement to tariff-related uncertainties and immigration-related tensions, the state of the partnership between the United States and Korea has important implications for regional and global security, economic, and po...

The multilateral free trade system is weakening, the United States is turning inward through discretionary tariffs and industrial policy, and major economies are racing toward security- and resilience-driven production. For South Korea—a leading global trader with a small domestic market—the old playbook of export expansion alone no longer holds, former Minister for Trade Taeho Bark argues. On May...

The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has severely disrupted global energy access. Northeast Asian countries, including South Korea, rely on maritime imports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet their demand, prompting emergency tapping of strategic reserves, limits on the export of petroleum products, and an interim recalibration toward alternative sources such as nuclear power and c...

The Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) and the Korean American Institute (KAI) co-hosted Washington Policy Briefings on May 14, 2026. This day-long program examined the policy issues shaping the U.S.-Korea relationship and the Korean American community. This first session focused on the political and security dimensions of the U.S.-South Korea alliance, including extended deterrence, North...

The Korea Economic Institute of America and the Korean American Institute convened the second panel of the Washington Policy Briefings on May 14, 2026, examining how U.S. tax, tariff, trade, and immigration policy shape Korean American households, businesses, and the broader U.S.-Korea economic relationship. The Washington Policy Briefings are a joint KEI–KAI initiative to inform the Korean Americ...

The November 2025 U.S.-South Korea Joint Fact Sheet opened the door to renewed discussions on South Korea's civil uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing and closer strategic alignment on cyberspace policies and cooperation, expanding the traditional areas of alliance cooperation to encompass civil nuclear energy and cyberspace. The Lee Jae Myung administration plans to construct additional...

The ideology sustaining the Kim dynasty did not emerge from a vacuum. It was shaped, in part, by American missionaries who built a Christian following in Pyongyang in the late nineteenth century. That is the argument at the heart of Korean Messiah, and it reframes how Americans should think about their relationship with the Korean Peninsula and the Kim regime. Join the Korea Economic Institute of...

Join KEI for a conversation with Bruce Bechtol, author of Rogue Allies: The Strategic Partnership between Iran and North Korea, on the security, economic, and strategic implications of North Korea-Iran relations and what Washington and Seoul should do about it. Dr. Bechtol argues that Iran is North Korea's most important Middle Eastern partner. The two have maintained a strategic relationship for...

U.S.–South Korea nuclear cooperation is moving from long-term ambition into active policy discussion following the November 2025 Joint Fact Sheet. But what will it take to turn commitment into real capability, given legal, industrial, and political constraints? Join KEI on April 28 at 10:00 a.m. ET for a discussion on defense-industrial cooperation and nuclear-powered attack submarines in the U.S....

In October 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his approval for South Korea to build a nuclear-powered attack submarine in the United States. But no progress has been made on the issue since then. In this virtual event for KEI’s upcoming Korea Policy journal, KEI Senior Fellow and Director of Academic Programs Ellen Kim hosts Korea Institute for Defense Analyses’ Jihoon Yu to assess where...

Alliance modernization has moved fast. The publication of the U.S. National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy, combined with the ongoing war in Iran, has transformed what was once an abstract policy concept into an urgent operational reality, generating significant challenges and real opportunities for Washington and Seoul. Can the two sides structure that conversation before politic...

On January 23, 2026, the U.S. government released its 2026 National Defense Strategy. The document explicitly identifies defending the U.S. homeland and interests in the Western Hemisphere as the country’s top priority. In the Indo-Pacific, U.S. defense priorities focus on balancing deterrence and peaceful coexistence with China and emphasizing enhanced burden-sharing with regional allies and part...

North Korea is finalizing a five-year military modernization plan and will hold its Ninth Party Congress in the coming days—the results of which could reshape security dynamics on the Korean Peninsula. New long-range missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland, a nuclear doctrine that explicitly permits preemptive use of nuclear weapons, and expanded conventional capabilities are reshaping dete...

The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a significant check on White House trade authority — and America's trading partners, including South Korea, are now recalibrating. On Friday, February 20, the Court struck down the ability of the Trump administration to implement tariffs to regulate imports under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). While the decision strikes down the tariff...

The Global America Business Institute (GABI), the Korea Economic Institute (KEI), and the International Nuclear Nonproliferation and Cooperation Center (INC) hosted a joint workshop discussing the future of nuclear energy in the context of AI and energy security. Session I: Global Perspectives on AI Demand and Energy Needs The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence is reshaping global energy d...

On December 5, 2025, Arizona State University, in partnership with the Korea Economic Institute of America and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted a public program titled “U.S.–ROK Cooperation in the Semiconductor and EV Battery Supply Chain.” As the United States and South Korea deepen cooperation in advanced technologies, semiconductor manufacturing, and electric-vehicle...

Sheena Chestnut Greitens sits down with Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha, the Republic of Korea’s ambassador to the United States. Recorded before a live audience at The University of Texas at Austin on December 3, the conversation explores the deepening alignment between Seoul and Washington. Ambassador Kang and Dr. Greitens discuss the implementation of the recent $350 billion Korean government-led inv...

On December 1st, 2025 the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, in partnership with Korea Economic Institute of America and the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were thrilled to welcome Ambassador Kang Kyung-wha and a panel of experts to discuss the importance of the growing partnership between the Republic of Korea and the State of Georgia. Why Georgia Matters for South Korea:...

America is racing to meet growing commercial and defense demands for ships, and South Korea—one of the world’s leading shipbuilders—is emerging as a vital partner. Hanwha’s landmark 2024 acquisition of Philly Shipyard signaled a new era of trans-Pacific collaboration, with both governments now rallying behind the “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA)” initiative. But big ambitions face r...

In this live Q&A at the 1st Channel A CHAIRS Forum on October 21, 2025, KEI President and CEO Scott Snyder answers questions from Yonsei University's Youngshik Bong about U.S.–South Korea relations under Presidents Donald Trump and Lee Jae Myung. The conversation ranges from the APEC Summit’s role in upcoming tariff talks and the impact of Trump’s negotiation style to questions about whether n...