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In the context of a new Indo-Pacific security architecture emerging, what is the role of the U.S.-ROK Alliance?
The U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy has further deepened in the past year. The active partnership and alliance building activities have been particularly notable, including the first QUAD+ meetings and the launch of the AUKUS. In the context of a new Indo-Pacific security architecture emerging, what is the role of the U.S.-ROK Alliance? This seminar explores the obstacles and opportunities for the Alliance, taking the opportunity to also shed light on a topic rarely discussed in the context of the Alliance: Taiwan.
The Korea Project and the Korea Association of Military Studies are co-sponsoring this event.
General (Ret.) Vincent Brooks is a career Army officer who retired from active duty in January 2019 as the four-star general in command of over 650,000 Koreans and Americans under arms. He serves as Chairman and President of the Korea Defense Veterans Association. He is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he was selected to lead the 4,000 cadets as “First Captain.” He also holds a Master of Military Art and Science from the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. General Brooks was a National Security Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He holds an honorary Doctor of Laws from the New England School of Law as well as an honorary Doctor of Humanities from New England Law | Boston.
Admiral (Ret.) Chen Yeong-Kang (Richard) was previously Vice Minister for Policy of the Ministry of National Defense from 2015-2016, and was the Chief of the Navy (ROCN) from 2013-2015. During his 40-year service in the Navy, he took several demanding flag positions for policy, Joint operations, and education including Chief of Navy, Vice Chief of General Staff (Executive), Chief Staff of Navy, President of the National Defense University, 63 Task Force commander, and years of different sea duties. He is a graduate of the ROC Naval Academy, Command Staff College, and the U.S. Naval War College.
Dr. Ashton Cho is the Vice President and Director of International Security Cooperation at the Korea Association of Military Studies. Dr. Cho received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and was previously the Shorenstein Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University’s Asia-Pacific Research Center and an Advanced Research Scholar at Peking University’s School of International Studies. Dr. Cho’s current research activities focus on the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
Dr. Francesca Giovannini is the Executive Director of the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. Dr. Giovannini served as Strategy and Policy Officer to the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), based in Vienna. In that capacity, she oversaw a series of policy initiatives to promote CTBT ratification as a confidence-building mechanism in regional and bilateral nuclear negotiations, elevate the profile of CTBT in academic circles and promote the recruitment of female scientists from the Global South. Prior to her international appointment, Dr. Giovannini served for five years at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston as Director of the Research Program on Global Security and International Affairs. With a Doctorate from the University of Oxford and two Masters from the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Giovannini began her career working for international organizations and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
General (Ret.) Leem Ho-Young is the President of the Korea Association of Military Studies, a nonprofit think tank operating under the auspices of the ROK Ministry of National Defense. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Korea Defense Veterans Association and Vice President of the Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation. Previously, General Leem was the Commander of the Ground Component Command and Deputy Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command from 2016 to 2017. General Leem has served as the ROK Army’s Director of Audit and Inspection and the Director of Strategy and Planning for the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has been a lifelong Infantry officer since his graduation from the Korea Military Academy, Class Number 38.
Dr. John Park is Director of the Korea Project at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center. Dr. Park’s core research projects focus on nuclear proliferation, alliances, economic statecraft, North Korean cyber activities, and the political economy of the Korean Peninsula. At Harvard University, he is an Associated Faculty Member of the Korea Institute, Faculty Member of the Committee on Regional Studies East Asia, and a Faculty Affiliate with the Project on Managing the Atom. He previously directed Northeast Asia Track 1.5 projects at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He advises Northeast Asia policy-focused officials in the U.S. government. He earlier worked at Goldman Sachs and The Boston Consulting Group. Dr. Park received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He completed his predoctoral and postdoctoral training at the Harvard Kennedy School.
7:00 - 7:05 PM: Opening Session
Welcoming Remarks
Dr. John Park (Director, Korea Project, Harvard Kennedy School)
Dr. Ashton Cho (Vice President, Korea Association of Military Studies)
7:05 - 8:05 PM: In Conversation
Moderator:
Dr. Francesca Giovannini (Executive Director, Managing the Atom Project, Harvard Kennedy School)
Panel Speakers:
General (Ret.) Vincent Brooks (Former Commander, ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command)
General (Ret.) Leem Ho-Young (Former Deputy Commander, ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command)
Admiral (Ret.) Chen Yeong-Kang (Former Vice Minister of National Defense of the Republic of China)
8:05 - 8:30 PM: Q&A Session
8:30 PM: Adjourn
