Korean unification: Prospect and global implications
While the prospects of Korean unification may appear grim in light of continued tensions between the two Koreas, such outlooks have not deterred the ongoing preparation process for unification. Over the past several decades, policymakers and experts have devised varied unification scenarios to deal with the ever-changing political and security situations on the peninsula. Now with South Korea’s expanded role as a middle power nation, unification will undoubtedly include far-reaching implications pertaining to global security, economics, and geopolitics. Such implications will demand a greater role from international actors in the process.
On February 27 to 28, the Center for East Asia Policy Studies co-hosted a conference on the prospects of Korean unification and its global political and economic implications. Jointly organized by the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis at the Australian National University, the Asiatic Research Institute at Korea University, and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, the conference convened renowned Korean and international specialists in academia and research institutes to present their academic and policy-oriented research. This was the third in a series of conferences organized on Korean unification—the earlier workshops were in Seoul in 2015 and Canberra, Australia in 2016.
The conference focused on reviewing recent developments in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia, analyzing various scenarios of Korean unification, and assessing the economic and security effects of unification on North and South Korea and the Asia-Pacific region. Participants also provided insights from other international cases of unification and discussed a direction for policies towards cooperation and peace in Northeast Asia.
Agenda
Changes in Northeast Asian geopolitics and prospect of Korean unification
Richard C. Bush
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, John L. Thornton China Center
Victor Cha
Senior Vice President and Korea Chair - Center for Strategic and International Studies
Vice Dean for Faculty and Graduate Affairs and D.S.-Song - KF Professor of Government - Georgetown University
Sung-wook Nam
Director, Center for North Korean Studies - Asiatic Research Institute of Korea University
Bradley Babson
Chair, DPRK Economic Forum - U.S.-Korea Institute, SAIS
Jonathan D. Pollack
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Center for East Asia Policy Studies, John L. Thornton China Center
Implications from international experiences of unification
Warwick J. McKibbin
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Economic Studies, Center on Regulation and Markets
Distinguished Professor of Economics & Public Policy - Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University
Michael C. Burda
Professor of Economics - Humboldt University Berlin
Marcus Noland
Executive Vice President and Director of Research - Peterson Institute for International Economics
Ari Kokko
Director, Asia Research Centre - Copenhagen Business School
Hyung-gon Jeong
Vice President - Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
Session Materials
Security implications of Korean unification
Scott Snyder
Senior Fellow for Korea Studies, Director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy - Council on Foreign Relations
Shin-wha Lee
Ambassador for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights - Republic of Korea
Political and social effects of Korean unification
Shin-wha Lee
Ambassador for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights - Republic of Korea
Jai-kwan Jung
Associate Professor - Korea University
Katharine H.S. Moon
Former Brookings Expert
Visiting Professor of Government - Harvard University
Professor Emerita of Political Science - Wellesley College
Session Materials
Economic impacts of Korean unification
Warwick J. McKibbin
Nonresident Senior Fellow - Economic Studies, Center on Regulation and Markets
Distinguished Professor of Economics & Public Policy - Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University
Nicholas Eberstadt
Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy - The American Enterprise Institute
Michael C. Burda
Professor of Economics - Humboldt University Berlin
Moonsung Kang
Professor - Korea University
How to achieve cooperation and peace in the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia
Marcus Noland
Executive Vice President and Director of Research - Peterson Institute for International Economics
Jangho Choi
Associate Research Fellow - Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
Woon-gyu Choi
Senior Economist - IMF Institute
Session Materials
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