Ally-Shoring and South Korea’s High-Tech Industry

Against the backdrop of U.S.-China competition, industrial policy has returned to the global stage, significantly shaping the future of the U.S. alliance network in the Indo-Pacific. South Korea is a key player, with its leading global firms driving innovation in high-tech industries such as semiconductors and information technology. Join us for a discussion on how governments and companies in the U.S. and its key allies, South Korea and Japan, are navigating the diversification of high-tech supply chains. We will explore how these governments and companies are adapting their policies and the implications for U.S. alliance management with South Korea.

Conference Agenda

8:00 – 8:40 Breakfast and Networking

08:40 – 8:45 Welcoming Remarks

Shannon Hader, Dean, School of International Service, American University

08:45 – 9:00 Opening Keynote Address

TBC

Panel 1

9:00 – 10:00 The Future of Ally-shoring

Moderator: Ji-Young Lee, Associate Professor of International Relations & C.W.Lim and KF Professor of Korean Studies, American University

Tami Overby, Senior Counselor, Albright Stonebridge Group

Kristin Vekasi, Associate Professor of Political Science and the School of Policy and International Affairs, University of Maine

Han-koo Yeo, Former Trade Minister of ROK & Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

10:00 – 10:15 Coffee Break

Panel 2

10:15 – 11:15 Global Tech Companies and Governments

Moderator: Gwanhoo Lee, Professor of the Department of Information Technology and Analytics, American University

Mary Elizabeth Lovely, Professor Emeritus of Economics, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University & Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

June Park, Senior Research Fellow, National University of Singapore

Hyun Jung Je, Chief Representative, Washington Office, Korea International Trade Association

11:15 – 11:30 Coffee Break

Panel 3

11:30 – 12:30 Cybersecurity and Foreign Policy

Moderator: Trey Herr, Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity, American University & Senior Director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative, the Atlantic Council

William Akoto, Assistant Professor of Global Security, American University

Melissa Griffith, Lecturer in Technology and National Security, Johns Hopkins University

12:30 – 12:40 Closing Remarks

Sevde Arpaci Ayhan, AU Korea in Global Affairs Postdoctoral Fellow, American University