Former pro-Yoon protest leader joins US State Department-linked board

Kim Jyung-hyun / Screenshot from the YouTube channel "Alfred Jyung-hyun Kim"

Kim Jyung-hyun, a former protest leader who firmly opposed the arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol following his impeachment in late 2024, has been appointed to the board of governors of the East-West Center in Hawaii, according to his think tank and media reports.

The Bexus Policy Research Institute, a Washington-based think tank, announced that Kim, a Korean American who holds dual citizenship, was nominated to the board on May 12 by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The 18-member international board was created by the U.S. Congress in 1960 as part of the East-West Center, a nonprofit diplomacy institution aimed at strengthening ties and mutual understanding between the U.S. and Asia-Pacific countries. A significant share of its budget comes directly from the U.S. federal government, and five of the board members are named by the U.S. secretary of state.

According to a State Department letter revealed by Bexus, Kim was appointed to a three-year term on the board, effective immediately, with the secretary citing Kim’s work as an investigative journalist, army veteran and policy research expert on Indo-Pacific political and security issues. The letter says his bilingual capabilities and policy expertise will support the board’s oversight and guidance “aligned with America First foreign policy priorities in this critical region.”

Born in Kansas and raised in Korea, Kim previously worked as a journalist at the Monthly Chosun, a conservative monthly magazine. In December 2024, after the National Assembly approved Yoon’s impeachment motion, Kim drew controversy by leading protests near the presidential residence in Seoul, calling himself part of a “baekgoldan” — which translates to “white skull brigade” — and wearing a white helmet to protest Yoon’s arrest. The term was used historically for plainclothes riot police units in the 1980s and 90s, when state-led violations of human rights and anti-democratic terror were pervasive.