Session: Plenary Session 3 (Future of Alliance)
Date/Time: April 25, 2023 / 14:35- 15:50

 
Rapporteur:
Mae Young, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Moderator:
Paula Hancocks, CNN

Speakers:
Ha Taekung, National Assembly of the Republic of Korea
Park Young Sun, Former Minister of SMEs and Startups of the Republic of Korea
Anthony B. Kim, The Heritage Foundation
Allison Hooker, American Global Strategies
David Maxwell, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Karel De Gucht, Former European Commissioner for Trade
Fujisaki Ichiro, Nakasone Peace Institute
 
Session Sketch:
 
The shifts and changes in the international order makes alliances both important and necessary. “We should not limit alliances to a military thing,” says Karel De Gucht, the Former European Commissioner for Trade “It is important that cooperation is not limited to military cooperation, but also economy and industrially.”

In order to strengthen an alliance, Ambassador Fujisaki Ichiro, President and CEO of the Nakasone Peace Institute, has one ardent message to give: “Please try to be as inclusive as possible.”

As far as the future of alliance is concerned, Ha Takeung from the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea says “Now is the time for us to be a diplomatic power, the same level as Britain, France and Germany. I think South Korea should play a more active role in global politics.”

“With as much confidence as I’ve said in the years in government, (the alliance) is at the strongest as it’s ever been,” says Allison Hooker of the American Global Strategies, “but even with that there are still areas we can improve and deepen.”

“Celebrating a 7-decade long alliance is the easy part. What we should be interested in is how can we make our alliance better from this point on. What we should be interested in is how we can make our alliance better, greater form this point on,” says Anthony Kim of the Heritage Foundation.

OPCON (Operation Control Transfer) transition is an important issue for the future according to David Maxwell, Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He adds that “Human rights is not only a moral imperative; it is a national security issue.”

Park Young Sun, (Virtual Participant) Former Minister of SMEs and Startups of the Republic of Korea, recognized that the seven-decade long alliance has evolved into three chapters. The first one took place during the Cold War, the second one is the economic collapse of the Soviet Union, and the third one is characterized by the science, IT, as well as the space explorations.

* The views expressed herein are summaries written by rapporteurs and may not necessarily reflect the views of the speakers, their affiliated institutions, or the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.