Song Min-soon will discuss the role of the ROK-U.S. alliance in addressing the North Korean nuclear issue and promoting security cooperation in Northeast Asia. He will share his views on the need for the ROK-U.S. alliance to employ strategic approaches in dealing with the North Korean nuclear problem, including ways to engage China and North Korea. In addition, Song will present his thoughts on why it is essential for the ROK-U.S. alliance to come up with a vision for the future of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia that can be shared by countries in the region.

Song Min-soon, a former career diplomat, was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the administration of President Roh Moo-Hyun and prior to that his National Security Advisor. Song was chief negotiator in the Six Party Talks when the September 19 Joint Statement was adopted in 2005. He participated in the Korean Peace Talks in Geneva as well as the inter-Korean Defense Ministers’ Talks, both in the late 1990s. Song negotiated numerous ROK-U.S. bilateral issues, including a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Song was elected to the National Assembly in June 2008 and currently serves on the Foreign Affairs, Trade & Unification Committee. He has a BA in German literature from Seoul National University.

Korean Studies Program at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center is hosting an international workshop on South Korean economic affairs on March 18-19 sponsored by Koret Foundation.  Leading scholars and former senior officials from Korea and the United States will explore key aspects of economic globalization and Korea's role, from policies and politics to the economic prospects of a unified Korean. This lecture is offered as a public event on the first day of the workshop for a larger audience from the community and the Bay area.

Ambassador Han was appointed by President Lee, Myung-bak as the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of the America on January 18, 2009. He presented his Letter of Credence to President Barack Obama on May 20, 2009.

Before the appointment, Ambassador Han served as the 38th Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea after his nomination was approved by the National Assembly on April 2, 2007, and he worked in that capacity until February 2008.

Prior to serving as Prime Minister, Ambassador Han held numerous high-ranking positions in the Korean government. In 2006, he was named Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Facilitating KORUS FTA following his service as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy. Before being named Minister of Government Policy Coordination in early 2004, he worked as President of the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade.

As Korea’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Ambassador Han went to Paris in 2001 before returning to Seoul later that year to serve at the Blue House, first as Senior Secretary to the President for Policy and Planning and later as Senior Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs. 

Ambassador Han was the Minister for Trade at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1998 to 2001. Previously, he was Assistant Minister for International Trade and Vice Minister at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. From 1993 to 1994, he served as Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs.

During his distinguished career in government, Ambassador Han has made many contributions to the development and modernization of the Korean economy.  Deregulation, market opening and strengthening of the market economy have been the three pillars of his philosophy and framework for the economic policy of Korea.

Ambassador Han earned a B.A. in economics from Seoul National University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.  He has been awarded two Order of Public Service and Merit Medals.

This event is supported by a generous grant from the Koret Foundation.

Since President Lee Myung-bak introduced the "Green Growth" policy in 2008, Korea has actively advocated it in every aspect of the society as a new engine of growth. The Presidential Committee on Green Growth was created as a control tower of the policy developments and green industries were identified, and along the same line of efforts, the Basic Law on Green Growth was enacted.  Korea, among the developing countries under the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was the first to volunteer to reduce emissions by 30 percent of anticipated BAU by 2020.  It also initiated the East Asia Climate Partnership through which 200 million USD was pledged to assist developing countries in the region to cope with climate change.  The Lee administration has revealed its ambitious plans to launch Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) next year, which is presumed to play a catalyst role in inducing a low carbon economy.  Furthermore, it is expected that Korea, as Chair of the G20 in 2010, will aggressively promote green finance and green technology.

Suh Yong Chung is Associate Professor in the Division of International Studies at Korea University and is an international expert on sustainable development law and policy. His research covers various emerging issues in the environment and sustainable development such as climate change, marine environment, and biodiversity both at global and regional level. His most recent works focus on internationalization of Green Growth policy, post-2010 climate change regime formation, and regional environmental institution building in Northeast Asia.  He is a member of the Compliance Committee of the UN Basel Convention, and has participated in various activities of international organizations including the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Project, UNEP’s Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP), and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP). He has also advised on international law and policy issues in Korea for the Presidential Committee on Green Growth, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Ministry of Environment and the Organizing Committee of the 2012 Yeosu EXPO.
 
Suh Yong Chung holds degrees in law and international relations from Seoul National University, the London School of Economics and Stanford Law School. He was a researcher at Shorenstein APARC and has continuously been involved in its activities as the Secretary General of the Stanford APARC Forum in Korea.

In only two generations, South Korea has transformed from an economic "basket case" into one of the world’s leading economies and trading states. Its phenomenal economic development brought its people out of poverty, modernized its society, and culminated in a dynamic democracy. Today Korea stands as a leading developmental model for countries throughout East Asia and, indeed, the entire world.

Having achieved an advanced economy, Korea’s economic policymakers now face major new challenges. The ever-increasing pace of globalization requires that they provide a vision for the economy that takes into account increased competition, the transition in postwar global financial and trade regimes, scientific and technological revolutions, energy shortages, and climate change, among many others. Korea is seeking again to be a model, this time in leading the way in adjusting to and shaping a new global economic era. The administration of President Lee Myung-bak has undertaken major reforms at home, and is also playing a significant role in international economic, trade, and financial policymaking, including as host of the November 2010 G20 summit.

Using Korea as a case study to explore the parameters of economic globalization and individual states’ adjustment to it, Stanford’s Korean Studies Program, in collaboration with the Korea Development Institute, will host an international workshop on campus, March 18–19, 2010. Leading scholars and former senior officials from Korea and the United States will explore key aspects of economic globalization and Korea’s role, from policies and politics, to the economic prospects of a unified Korea. Their presentations will be published as an edited volume in conjunction with the Brookings Institution Press. 

The Koret Fellowship was established at the Korean Studies Program in 2008, with the generous support of the Koret Foundation, to bring leading professionals in Asia and the United States to Stanford to conduct research on contemporary U.S.-Korean relations, with the broad aim of fostering greater understanding and closer ties between the two countries.

This workshop is supported by the generous grant from Koret Foundation.