The inauguration of Lee Myung-bak as president in February represented a significant shift in South Korea's foreign policy. After ten years of "progressive" rule in Seoul, Lee's skepticism about North Korean intentions and his unambiguous support for the U.S. alliance stand out in great contrast. Prof. Paik will analyze President Lee's foreign policy and its implications for dealing with North Korea and for relations with the United States, including in view of the upcoming change in U.S. administration.

Jin-Hyun Paik is a professor at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS), Seoul National University (SNU). He is also director of its Institute of International Affairs (IIA), which publishes, among others, the Journal of International and Area Studies (formerly Asia Journal). He specializes in Korea’s foreign and security policy, international security and conflict management, and international law and organization. Educated at Seoul National University (LL.B.), Columbia Law School (LL.M.), and Cambridge University (Ph.D.), Prof. Paik has been a research associate at the Hague Academy of International Law; a visiting fellow at the Rand Corporation and the Hoover Institution, Stanford; and a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He was a member of the Presidential Commission on Policy Planning, Korea, and of official advisory committees to a number of Korean government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the National Security Council. Prof. Paik has edited six books and written over 100 articles in his fields of interest, in both English and Korean. He is also a frequent contributor and commentator on international affairs to major Korean newspapers and international media. Prof. Paik is an attorney-at-law (a member of the New York Bar). He is currently president of the Korean Academic Council on the United Nations System (KACUNS).

A dialogue with Amb. Jeffrey Bader and Dan Blumenthal, senior advisors on Asia policy to Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.

The November 4th U.S. presidential election is certain to bring major changes in American domestic and foreign policy. Will Asia witness such change? How will the next President deal with the challenges of North Korea's nuclear program and China's rise as a regional and global power? How will the new administration manage the U.S. security alliances with Japan and South Korea? Will Asia get more attention after November?

These and other questions will be addressed by senior advisors on Asia policy to the two major candidates for President, in a panel discussion moderated by Shorenstein APARC's Acting Director Ambassador Michael Armacost.

Jeffrey Bader worked at the State Department, the National Security Council, and the United States Trade Representative’s office during his 27-year career with the U.S. Government. He is an expert on U.S.-China relations and director of the John L. Thornton China Center.

Dan Blumenthal joined AEI in November 2004 as a resident fellow in Asian studies. He has served on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Commission since 2005, serving as vice chairman in 2007, and as a member of the Academic Advisory Board for the Congressional U.S.-China Working Group. Previously, Mr. Blumenthal was senior director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the first George W. Bush administration. In addition to writing for AEI’s Asian Outlook series, he has written articles and op-eds for the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, National Review, and numerous edited volumes. He is currently working on a monograph that will examine divides within the China policymaking community.

Professor Schaede's seminar will focus on the themes of her new book, Choose and Focus: Japanese Business Strategies for the 21st Century (Cornell UP, 2008). She will argue that Japan has undergone a strategic inflection point so fundamental that relying on what we used to know about Japan from the 1980s is insufficient to understand the new Japanese competitiveness.

In addition to analyzing this recent shift away from diversification to focused, lean organizations among Japan's leading companies, Professor Schaede will also discuss the newly emerging takeover market in Japan, as well as the changing role of venture capital and startups in Japan's newly emerging open system of innovation.

Ulrike Schaede is Professor of Japanese Business at UC San Diego's School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. Schaede has written extensively on business organization and the financial system in Japan. Her recent working papers discuss changes in business groups and Japan's main bank system; investment funds, institutional investors and hostile takeovers; legal reform and "revitalization", as well as changing employment strategies and non-regular work. She is also an investigator for SPRIE's Japanese Entrepreneurship project.