▲ This image is provided by Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's key newswire, to promote its annual "Korea Peninsula Symposium," to be held on June 26, 2026, at the Crystal Ballroom of Lotte Hotel Seoul in central Seoul under the theme "Global Compound Crises and the Korean Peninsula." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE)(Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- Leading experts in diplomacy, security and the economy will gather Friday to discuss South Korea's survival strategies amid growing global challenges, including fractures in the international alliance system, security instability and supply chain disruptions.

 

Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's key newswire, will hold the 2026 Korea Peninsula Symposium at the Crystal Ballroom of Lotte Hotel Seoul in central Seoul in cooperation with the Ministry of Unification, the Institute for National Security Strategy and Yonhap's Center for Northeast Asian Studies.

 

This year's symposium is themed "Global Complex Crises and the Korean Peninsula."

 

At the opening ceremony, which begins at 1 p.m., a congratulatory message from President Lee Jae Myung will be delivered by Sung Ki-hong, senior presidential secretary for public relations and communications. National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik will also attend and deliver congratulatory remarks.

 

Hwang Dae-il, president and chief executive officer of Yonhap News Agency, and Kim Sung-bae, president of the Institute for National Security Strategy, will deliver the opening and welcoming remarks, respectively.

 

Following the opening ceremony, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young will deliver the keynote address, introducing the Lee Jae Myung administration's policy direction and strategy for building peace on the Korean Peninsula amid global crises.

 

Rep. Young Kim, chair of the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Ami Bera, co-chair of the Congressional Korea Caucus, will deliver video messages emphasizing the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

 

The symposium will feature two discussion sessions involving prominent scholars and experts from South Korea and abroad.

 

The first session, titled "Fracturing Alliance Order and Strategic Responses by Major Powers," will be moderated by Kim Sung-bae and examine changes in the global alliance system and the strategic responses of major countries.

 

Participants include Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute in the United States; Wen Tiejun, dean of the Institute of International Strategic Studies at Peking University; Junya Nishino, professor of political science at Keio University in Japan; and Sven Biscop, acting director of the Royal Higher Institute for Defence in Belgium. They will take part in a roundtable discussion representing perspectives from the United States, China, Japan and Europe.

 

The second session, titled "Escalating Economic, Energy and Security Crises: Survival Strategies for the Korean Peninsula," will explore practical strategies for South Korea to navigate intertwined diplomatic, security, economic and energy challenges.

 

The session will be moderated by Kim Byung-yeon, distinguished professor of economics at Seoul National University. Panelists include Lee Hye-jung, professor of political science and international relations at Chung-Ang University; former First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun; former Trade Minister Jeong In-kyo; and former chief nuclear negotiator Noh Kyu-duk.

 

The symposium will be livestreamed in both Korean and English on Yonhap News Agency's official YouTube channel.

 

Now in its 12th year, the Korea Peninsula Symposium has served as an annual forum bringing together government officials, policymakers and experts from home and abroad to assess developments on the Korean Peninsula and propose practical policy solutions.

 

This year's event is sponsored by major government ministries, including the finance, foreign and defense ministries, as well as the National Unification Advisory Council and Yonhap News TV.

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]