South Korean gov't at odds with US think tank

Robert Gallucci, chairman of U.S.-Korea Institute, speaks in the National Assembly during his Seoul visit in December. / Yonhap

By Choi Ha-young

Tension is mounting between the Korean government and the U.S.-Korea Institute (USKI), a think tank at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), after the government announced it would cut off its funding for the Washington, D.C.-based institute beginning in June.

Since its foundation in 2006, the think tank, which runs 38 North specializing in North Korean affairs, has received 2 billion won ($1.87 million) from the government annually through the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) installed under the Prime Minister's Office.

As its reasons for the cut-off, the KIEP cited “lax reporting on accounts and a lack of transparency in selecting visiting scholars and interns.” To reform the management of the organization, the KIEP has reportedly requested the resignation of Jae H. Ku, director of USKI, and Jenny Town, vice director of USKI, a request the think tank dismissed. Ku has headed the organization since 2007.

“The USKI even refused to notify us about its projects worth $80,000 which were not included in the budget plan. The National Assembly has also taken issue with Ku's long-term tenure,” a KIEP official said.

However, USKI Chairman Robert Gallucci denounced the move as an “intervention on academic freedom.”

In interviews with several Korea media, Gallucci, who was a chief negotiator during the 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis, hinted Cheong Wa Dae's involvement in the pressure to dismiss Ku. He said he will send a letter to President Moon Jae-in in protest.

Cheong Wa Dae refuted the claim. “In 2014, then-lawmaker Kim Ki-sik raised the problem of the USKI. Last year, Rep. Lee Hack-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, a National Policy Committee member, also tackled the issue,” a ranking presidential official said Saturday.

“Through the review of the budget for the USKI and parliamentary inspection, the ruling and opposition parties in August passed 2 billion won of funding for this year, on the condition of improving the think tank's transparency. The USKI, however, failed to submit proper reports and measures to improve its operation.”

Ku, however, refuted the accusations, claiming he has submitted 3,000 to 5,000 pages of reports to the KIEP every year.

“Initially I sent papers via international delivery service, but began to send CDs and USBs after the KIEP told me they had difficulty in handling the load of paper. I don't understand why the authorities complain of a lack of transparency,” Ku told JoongAng Ilbo.

He further claimed there is political intention behind the controversy, hinting that the liberal Moon administration seems to exclude those close to former conservative administrations from government-related institutes. “I believe (Cheong Wa Dae) assumes I am close to Lee Jae-oh, an associate of former conservative President Lee Myung-bak, as he was a visiting scholar here,” Ku said.

“Even though I am categorized as a conservative, close to Republicans in the U.S., the USKI has served as a cradle of dovish experts such as Gallucci and Joel Wit,” he added, criticizing Seoul's bid to cut off funds.

In recent days, some media reports said the Moon administration allegedly attempted to oust conservative experts from think tanks. On April 4, the JoongAng Ilbo reported that David Straub, who was working as the Sejong-LS Fellow at the Sejong Institute, was forced to leave after being “blacklisted” by Cheong Wa Dae.

However, the institute requested a correction on the report, saying a one-year contract with Straub was terminated on Feb. 28. Cheong Wa Dae also said it wouldn't tolerate reports based on false information, hinting at legal measures if the newspaper does not correct its report.