Choi Jonghyun Academic Institute Hosts '1st Trans-Pacific Dialogue' in Washington D.C.
Discusses US-China Hegemony, North Korea Nuclear Crisis, Supply Chain Issues
Chairman Choi Tae-won’s 4th Visit to US This Year
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is delivering a greeting at the 'Youth ON Project' held on the 25th at SK Hynix in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, is making efforts to network with political and business circles by visiting the United States for the fourth time this year. It is interpreted as a judgment that exchanges with the U.S. political and business circles are important as the group's major businesses such as semiconductors and batteries have emerged as security industries amid the U.S.-China hegemony competition.
According to SK Group on the 29th, Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, will attend the '1st Trans-Pacific Dialogue' (TPD) held in Washington D.C., USA, for three days from the 6th to the 8th of next month, hosted by the Choi Jong-hyun Academic Institute.
The '1st TPD' was organized to bring together current and former high-ranking officials, scholars, and business figures from Korea, the U.S., and Japan to discuss various issues in the Pacific and Northeast Asia. TPD is a new platform created by Chairman Chey, who has emphasized the need for private diplomacy and policy coordination in the Pan-Pacific region over the past several years, to propose solutions to geopolitical crises and alternatives for economic diplomacy.
The topics to be discussed include ▲U.S.-China strategic competition ▲Indo-Pacific strategy and Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation ▲North Korean nuclear issue and Korea-U.S. alliance ▲Impact of advanced science and technology innovation on geopolitics ▲Future of global supply chains in semiconductors, batteries, and vaccines.
The Choi Jong-hyun Academic Institute views the uncertainties of the global economy and geopolitical crises as constants rather than variables that determine not only a nation's future but also the fate of companies. It has promoted exchanges and dialogues among global opinion leaders who have significant influence on public opinion and policy formation in various countries. Chairman Chey is known to have personally overseen the agenda selection process from early this year and contacted some key participants multiple times to ensure the successful hosting of the inaugural TPD.
Recently, geopolitical risks such as the U.S.-China hegemony competition, global supply chain crises, and North Korean nuclear issues are affecting companies' overseas investments. The unusually long two-night, three-day TPD, held as a gathering of high-level opinion leaders, will be conducted under the 'Chatham House Rule,' which means that who said what will not be disclosed externally, allowing the top authorities in the field to engage in candid discussions and present practical solutions.
U.S. participants include former high-ranking officials such as former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, former Secretary of State Richard Armitage, former chief negotiator of the Korea-U.S. FTA Wendy Cutler, former Energy Secretary Dan Poneman, and former State Department Special Envoy for Nonproliferation and Disarmament Robert Einhorn, as well as academics and think tank and business figures such as Harvard Professor Joseph Nye, University of Chicago Professor John Mearsheimer, Princeton University Distinguished Professor John Ikenberry, State University of New York Distinguished Professor Stanley Whittingham (2019 Nobel Chemistry Laureate), UC Berkeley College of Engineering Dean Sujit Roy, Heritage Foundation Chairman Edwin Feulner, and Oracle CEO Safra Catz.
From Japan, former Defense Minister Nagashima Akihisa, Ichiro Fujisaki, chairman of the Nakasone Peace Institute, LDP House of Councillors member Matsukawa Rui, as well as leading international political scientists such as Tokyo University Professors Fujiwara Kiichi and Takahara Akio will attend.
The large attendance of current and former high-ranking U.S. officials and leaders reflects a discussion on the need to shift the focus from the Europe-centered transatlantic dialogue system, which the U.S. has concentrated on so far, to dialogue with leaders in the Northeast Asian region. This marks a significant milestone in Korean private diplomacy expanding its national stature beyond the Korean Peninsula and North Korea-centered issues.
From Korea, attendees include Chairman Chey, former Prime Minister Lee Hong-gu, Seoul National University Professor Jung Jae-ho, Sungkyunkwan University Professor Lee Sook-jong, Seoul National University Professors Park Cheol-hee and Kim Byung-yeon, Choi Jong-hyun Academic Institute Director Park In-guk, President of the University of North Korean Studies Ahn Ho-young, former Ambassador to Russia Wi Sung-rak, Korea University Professor Kim Sung-han, Chairman of the Korea Foundation Lee Geun, former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Division Kim Hong-gyun, and Ewha Womans University Professor Son Ji-ae. Regarding the global supply chain, SK Hynix President Lee Seok-hee and Seoul National University Professor Kang Ki-seok will also depart for the U.S.
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