On Tuesday, June 23, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET, the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security is pleased to host a conference on advancing Republic of Korea (ROK)-US defense capabilities collaboration.
Speakers will discuss opportunities for expanding and deepening allied defense industry cooperation in areas such as shipbuilding, co-production, supply chain cooperation, research and development, and more. Audience members will hear from ROK and US experts across government and industry, with the chance to engage through moderated Q&A sessions and a networking lunch.
This event is held in partnership with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency in Washington, DC, with support from the ROK Ministry of National Defense.
New policy: In-person attendees will be required to show photo ID upon arrival, and no on-site registration will be permitted. Guests will not be admitted later than twenty minutes after the event’s start time.
Registration for this event is now closed. Please reach out to IndoPacificSecurity@AtlanticCouncil.org with any questions.
Speakers
Agenda
8:00–9:00 a.m. | Registration
Please join us for registration at this time.
9:00–9:30 a.m. | Opening session
Speakers
Doo-hee Lee
Vice Minister
Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defense
Jenna Ben-Yehuda
Executive Vice President
Atlantic Council
H.E. Kyung-wha Kang
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to the United States
Master of Ceremonies
Lauren D. Gilbert
Deputy Director, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
Atlantic Council
9:30–9:40 a.m. | Keynote remarks
Michael J. Vaccaro
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
US Department of State
9:40–9:50 a.m. | Coffee break
Please join us during our coffee break.
9:50–11:00 a.m. | Session 1: Expanding allied defense industry cooperation
Speakers
Jai Joon You
Captain,
Republic of Korea Navy
Sungmin Cho
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science,
Sungkyunkwan University;
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative,
Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security,
Atlantic Council
Darrell Smith
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative,
Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security,
Atlantic Council
Steven Wills
Navalist, Center for Maritime Strategy
Naval League of the United States
Moderated by
Woo-yeal Paik
Professor, Department of Political Science and International Studies,
Yonsei University
11:00–11:10 a.m. | Coffee break
Please join us during our coffee break.
11:10 a.m.–12:20 p.m. | Session 2: Deepening alliance collaboration on capabilities development
Speakers
Ki-ho Kwak
Chief Technology Officer, AI Research Center,
Agency for Defense Development
Sung Gil Chang
Chief Officer, Korea Defense Industry Trade Support Center and G2G Support Center,
Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency
Laura Shen
Executive Vice President of Growth, Code Metal;
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative,
Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security,
Atlantic Council
Dak Hardwick
Vice President of International Affairs,
Aerospace Industries Association
Moderated by
RDML (ret.) Philip Yu
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Initiative,
Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security,
Atlantic Council
12:20–12:30 p.m. | Closing remarks
Matthew Kroenig
Vice President, Geostrategy and Fellows and Senior Director, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
Atlantic Council
12:30–2:00 p.m. | Networking lunch
Join our networking lunch during this time.
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Explore the program
The Indo-Pacific Security Initiative (IPSI) informs and shapes the strategies, plans, and policies of the United States and its allies and partners to address the most important rising security challenges in the Indo-Pacific, including China’s growing threat to the international order and North Korea’s destabilizing nuclear weapons advancements. IPSI produces innovative analysis, conducts tabletop exercises, hosts public and private convenings, and engages with US, allied, and partner governments, militaries, media, other key private and public-sector stakeholders, and publics.
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