Dr. Inbom Choi is an economist specializing in international trade and investment issues. He currently serves as the Senior Advisor for Government Relations and Public Policy in GM Korea and Advisor at the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Korea. He is also the Chairman of the Government & International Affairs Committee and the Chairman of the Automotive Committee of American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. He is also currently an Adjunct Professor at Sogang University's Graduate School of International Studies.
Dr. Choi has a broad range of work experience, previously serving as the IBM Governmental Programs Representative to Korea, Senior Advisor at Lee International (a major IP and Law Group in Korea), Chief Economist and Advisor to CEO at the Federation of Korean Industries, Assistant Secretary to the President for International Economics in the Office of the President, Managing Director of Grants and Programs at the APEC Education Foundation, and Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. From 2003 to 2005, he was the Chief Economic Advisor to the Governor of Gyeonggi Province, during which he served as the Secretary General of the Gyeonggi Federation of Economic Organizations. He was also a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for International Economics in Washington D.C when he was simultaneously an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and a consultant to the World Bank, where he had previously worked.
Dr. Choi was selected as one of the ASEM’s Next Generation Leaders of Asia in 1998 and 1999 and has also received the Meritorious Honor Award from the Office of the President in 1996. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from Georgetown University and had certified advanced training in negotiation from the Harvard Negotiation Project. He has written numerous books and articles on international economics including “Long and Winding Road to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): Korea’s Accession Experience” and “Free Trade between Korea and the United States?,” co-authored with Jeffrey Schott.
Amy Jackson has served as the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) since August 31, 2009. She is a member of Seoul’s Foreign Investment Advisory Council (FIAC), the International Advisory Group of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Business Coalition, and serves as an advisor for the Invest Korea Advisory Council (IKAC). In 2009, she was appointed to the Fulbright Commission Board and in 2010, she became a member of the PyeongChang 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games Organizing Committee and the Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea Organizing Committee. She was the Director of a Washington D.C. based international trade and investment consulting firm, C & M International, where she assisted U.S. corporate clients in addressing priority market access issues in Asia. She also served as the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Korea and Director of Japanese Affairs for the Office of U.S. Trade Representative, before which she worked for NASA as the lead negotiator on behalf of the United States for numerous U.S.-Japan space agreements.
Ms. Jackson is fluent in Japanese and worked for a member of the Japanese Diet and in the Japanese space agency as part of the Mansfield Fellowship program. She received a Bachelors degree in government from Pomona College and a Masters degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Dr. Dong-Soo Lee is Managing Director of Pfizer Korea, a subsidiary of Pfizer, the world’s largest research-based biopharmaceutical company. He leads the Primary Care Business Unit, coordinates the country leadership team and represents Pfizer Korea. Since joining Pfizer in 1998, Dong-Soo held various management positions at Pfizer Korea including Clinical Affairs Director, Medical Director and, most recently, Marketing Director. He led country strategic planning to drive Pfizer Korea to the position of market leader in the pharmaceutical industry with strong leadership in performance, talent development, strategy and operational management. Prior to Pfizer, he practiced as a family physician at Eulji General Hospital in Seoul.
Trained as a physician, Dong-Soo has a deep understanding of Korean healthcare industry and has actively engaged in various activities both internally and externally. He is currently serving as a Chairman at Korea Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree in medical science from Seoul National University College of Medicine, and earned a Masters degree in public health from Seoul National University Graduate College of Public Health. He earned a Ph.D. degree in medical science from Ulsan University and an MBA from Northwestern University and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
About AMCHAM Korea
The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) was founded in 1953, with a broad mandate to encourage the development of investment and trade between Korea and the United States. AMCHAM is the largest foreign chamber in Korea with around 2,000 individual members from almost 1,000 member companies with diverse interests and substantial participation in the Korean economy.
Each year AMCHAM Korea sends a team of Chamber representatives to Washington and New York on an independent "Door-Knock" program. This mission is organized solely for AMCHAM interests, and is a strong indication of the importance of today's trade relationship between Korea and the U.S. The AMCHAM Korea team informs congressional leaders of the current market situation here and makes recommendations on actions that should be taken to reach mutually-agreeable solutions to trade problems.
AMCHAM Korea has grown from its very modest beginnings in the year the Korean War ended to a large professional organization with an ever-increasing influence on the trade and business relationship between the U.S. and Korea. It derives its strength from the scope of its membership and from the efforts of the volunteer committee members who do the work and achieve the results. AMCHAM is at the center of business activities and has established full credibility with the Republic of Korea and the U.S. Government.
Now that the KORUS FTA has been in effect for three months, what has changed in the business environment between the United States and South Korea? To what extent has the treaty created jobs, spurred economic growth and generated new market demand for U.S. goods and services in Korea? And what are the prospects for the December Presidential election and how might new political alignments impact doing business in Korea?
