Dr. M.J. Chung

Dr. M.J. CHUNG is the founder and honorary chairman of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

He is also the chairman of the board of trustees of the Asan Foundation, the largest philanthropic organization in Korea, and the honorary chairman of Ulsan University. In 2011, he launched the Asan Nanum (˝sharing˝) Foundation which seeks to foster entrepreneurship among young Koreans.

Dr. Chung served seven terms in the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. He was chairman of the Grand National Party (Ruling Party) from 2009-2010, and was a presidential candidate in 2002. He served as vice president of FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association), and as co-chairman of the Korean Organizing Committee for the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup.

Dr. Chung received his B.A. in economics from Seoul National University, an M.S. from the Sloan School of Management at MIT, and a Ph.D. in international relations from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at the Johns Hopkins University.

Books

The Promise of Liberal Democracy, The Promise of Market Economy, The Promise of Fair Society (Midasbooks Publishers, 2012)
Conversations with Leaders (Prume Publishers, 2012)
My Challenges, My Passions (Gimm-Young Publishers, Inc., 2011)
This I Say To Japan (Gimm-Young Publishers, Inc., 2001)
The government-business relationship of Japan (The Korean Economy Daily, 1995)
Business ideology (University of Ulsan Press, 1982)

Articles

“Dealing with Nuclear North Korea: South Korea’s Option”, a Paper posted on M. J.’s blog January 31, 2016 and February 14, 2016
“East Asian Geopolitics: A Korean Perspective”, a Speech delivered at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University, May 15, 2015
“Thinking the Unthinkable on the Korean Peninsula Ⅱ: Nuclear North Korea & Reunification, a Speech delivered at the Dean’s Forum, the School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C., January 30, 2014
“Nuclear North Korea and National Security”, a Speech delivered during an interpellation session on Foreign Affairs, Unification, and National Security at the National Assembly, November 20, 2013
“Thinking the Unthinkable on the Korean Peninsula”, a Keynote delivered at the 2013 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference, Washington, D.C., April 9, 2013
“Korea’s New Security Paradigm”, a Lecture delivered at the School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, March 29, 2011
“Issues on Korea – American Economic Cooperation”, a Paper presented at the Conference on Peace and Prosperity on North-East Asia, Center of Strategic and International Studies(CSIS), Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., April, 1984

Yoon Young-kwan

Dr. 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, Project Syndicate, etc.

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.

Choi Kang

Dr. 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.