The manufacturing and energy sectors are navigating a complex environment shaped by a fundamental acceleration in the pace of technological transformation—particularly the rise of artificial intelligence in manufacturing systems—against the geopolitical background of the Trump administration’s “America First” policy and the unfolding political and economic dynamics of the strategic competition between the U.S. and China.
This roundtable will serve as a platform for experts and leaders in the U.S. and Korean energy and manufacturing industries to examine how evolving policy and technology trends are reshaping the contours of bilateral cooperation. The conversation will offer insights into how the U.S. and Korea can align economic strategies to meet shared challenges and unlock new opportunities—particularly in the areas of advanced manufacturing, energy security, and long-term economic resilience—in an increasingly interconnected yet geopolitically fragmenting environment.
AGENDA
9:30 AM – 10:00 AM | Coffee and Icebreaker
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Roundtable Discussion (approx. 90 minutes)
Shaping the U.S.-Korea Economic Cooperation in the Manufacturing and Energy Industry
Tuesday, June 17, 2025 | 10 AM-11:30 AM
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
PARTICIPANTS:
The Korea Society
Ambassador (ret) Kathleen Stephens
Chair @ The Korea Society
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2008-2011)
Ambassador (ret) Kathleen Stephens served as a career diplomat in the United States Foreign Service, 1978-2015. She was the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (2008-2011), the first woman and first Korean speaker to serve in that position. Other overseas assignments include postings to China, Korea, former Yugoslavia, Portugal, Northern Ireland – where she was U.S. Consul General in Belfast (1995-1998) during the negotiations culminating in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement – and India, where she was U.S. Chargé d’ Affaires (2014-2015).
Amb. Stephens served in Washington at the Department of State and the White House. These positions include acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (2012), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (2005-2007), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs (2003-2005), and National Security Council Director for European Affairs at the Clinton White House.
Amb. Stephens was President and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute of America from 2018 to 2023, and William J. Perry Fellow for Korea at Stanford University from 2015 to 2018. Earlier, she was Endowed Chair Professor for Language and Diplomacy at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, and Senior State Department Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy. She currently chairs the Board of The Korea Society and Pacific Century Institute, and is Vice-chair of the Board of Trustees of The Asia Foundation. She is a senior advisor at McLarty Associates, and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Council on Foreign Relations.
Amb. Stephens studied at Prescott College, the University of Hong Kong, and Oxford University. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Korea from 1975-1977. She holds a BA Honors from Prescott and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School.
General (ret) Walter “Skip” Sharp
Vice Chair and Secretary @ The Korea Society
President @ Sharp Advice, LLC
UNC/CFC/USFK Commander (2008-2011)
General (ret) Walter “Skip” Sharp currently serves as the Vice Chair and Secretary of The Korea Society’s Board of Directors.
Gen. Sharp was born in Morgantown, WV, while his father was fighting in the Korean War. He graduated from West Point in 1974 and was commissioned as an armor officer. He earned an M.S. in Operations Research and System Analysis from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a graduate of the Army War College.
During his military career, Gen. Sharp commanded the United Nations Command, Republic of Korea-United States Combined Forces Command, and United States Forces Korea from 2008 to 2011. He also commanded troops in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, and the Multinational Division (North) of the NATOled Stabilization Force in Bosnia.
Gen. Sharp had four assignments at the Pentagon on the Joint Staff. He was Director of the Joint Staff; Director for Strategic Plans and Policy, J5; Vice Director, J8 for Force Structure, Resources, and Assessment; and the Deputy Director, J5 for Western Hemisphere/Global Transnational Issues.
Gen. and Mrs. Sharp live in Alexandria, VA. He was the former Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Military Officers Association of America. He is on the Board of Directors for ARTIS, LLC and consults for several U.S. companies focused on supporting our military and veterans. Gen. Sharp is also involved in Northeast Asia and Korea strategy and policy discussions at several Washington, D.C. area think tanks.
Thomas J. Byrne
President & CEO @ The Korea Society
Thomas J. Byrne joined The Korea Society as President in August 2015. Since June 2023, he has also taken on the role of “Honorary Ambassador,” appointed by the minister of MOTIE under the auspices of KOTRA/Invest Korea, to help promote trade and investment ties between Korea and the U.S. Byrne comes to the Society from Moody’s Investor Services, where he was Senior Vice President, Regional Manager, spokesperson, and Director of Analysis for the Sovereign Risk Group in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, based in Singapore. Prior to that, he was the Senior Economist of the Asia Department at the Institute of International Finance in Washington D.C. from 1984 to 1996.
Byrne has an MA in International Relations with a Concentration in International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a BS in Biology from State University of New York at Stony Brook. Before his graduate work, he served in South Korea for three years as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. Byrne teaches as an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York City and at Georgetown University’s Graduate School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C. As President, he has written opinion articles published in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg View, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, The National Interest, and Reuters Breakingviews.
POSCO
Dr. In Hwa Chang
Chairman & CEO
POSCO Holdings
Dr. Chang In Hwa was appointed Chief Executive Officer of POSCO Holdings in March 2024. Dr. Chang’s life career at POSCO Group began in 1988 when he joined the Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology (RIST) as a researcher. After rising through the ranks at RIST, he transitioned to POSCO in 2011 to assume more prominent roles in business operations. To manage the business of steelmaking, he advanced through diverse leadership roles in business development, marketing, R&D and production. After holding key positions at POSCO, i.e., COO, CTO, he took a brief break from the frontlines in 2021 by serving as Executive Advisor. Currently, he also chairs notable external organizations, such as the Korea- Australia Business Council (KABC) and the Korea Iron & Steel Association (KOSA).
Throughout over 30 years of his professional career at POSCO Group, Dr. Chang has built robust technical expertise, wealth of business experience and deep insight into the steel industry. Interdisciplinary knowledge combined with operational leadership has helped to drive exceptional enhancements across production processes, marketing, finance and research. He is revered for his communication skills and close attention paid to staff.
Dr. Chang holds a Ph.D. in Ocean Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Prior to the terminal degree, he obtained his M.S. (1979) and B.S. (1981) degrees in Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering from Seoul National University (SNU) in Korea. Despite daunting schedules, Dr. Chang keeps a regular daily exercise routine and enjoys reading non-fiction science and engineering publications. He is married with 2 grown children, a son and a daughter.
Mr. Ben (Bo Sung) Kim
Head of Global Relations
POSCO Holdings
Ben Kim serves as Head of Global Relations at POSCO Holdings, bringing over two decades of international business experience to his current role in 2025. Ben joined POSCO in 2001, focusing on business strategy, overseas investment, and mergers and acquisitions before advancing through leadership positions including Team Leader of International Cooperation (2011) and Team Leader of Raw Material Purchase (2016). His career progressed to Managing Director of POSCO Australia in 2022, where he was promoted to Vice-President in February 2024. In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Mr. Kim has served as Chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Australia since 2024, demonstrating his commitment to fostering Korean-Australian business relations while leveraging his extensive background in international operations and strategic planning.
Mr. Kim holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Queensland (2000), a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Japanese Language from Griffith University (1998), and a Diploma in Missiology from Australian College of Theology (1993).
Dr. Kyeongchan Kim
President of POSCO Holdings
POSCO America
Dr. Kyeongchan Kim serves as Representative President of POSCO America, bringing over 30 years of comprehensive experience within the POSCO organization. Kim began his career at POSCO in 1994 as a staff member in the Marketing/Overseas Division and systematically advanced through key strategic roles, including positions in budgeting, export operations, and steel strategy planning. His progression through the organization includes nearly a decade as a Senior Researcher and Research Fellow in POSCO’s Steel Strategy Center, followed by leadership roles as Vice President of Steel Strategy Group, Senior Vice President of Steel Planning Group, and Senior/Executive Vice President of Investment Planning & Coordination Office. Since 2024, he has led POSCO’s American operations as Representative President, leveraging his extensive background in strategic planning, international business, and steel industry operations to oversee the company’s North American market presence.
Dr. Kim holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Yonsei University (1998), along with an M.B.A. (1994) and B.B.A. in German Language and Literature (1992) from the same institution.
Mr. Yong Deog Suh
President
POSCO International America
President Yong Deog Suh has built a 28-year career with Posco International Corporation. His experience spans multiple geographic markets, including seven years managing operations in Mexico (2000-2007) and four years as General Manager in the United States (2012-2015). He has specialized in steel trading and automotive steel sectors, progressing through senior management roles including Senior Manager of CR Steel Team, Director and Vice President of Automotive Steel Department, and Head of various steel divisions including Energy and Shipbuilding Steel. Since January 2025, Mr. Suh serves as Head of North America Region for Posco International Corp and President of Posco International America Corp, overseeing the company’s North American operations after nearly three decades of progressive leadership roles within the organization. Mr. Suh holds a Western History degree from Seoul National University.
Experts
Dean Emerita Merit Janow
SIPA, Columbia University
Merit E. Janow is an internationally recognized expert in international trade & investment. She has extensive experience in business, academia & government, with a life long involvement with the Asia-Pacific region. Janow was Dean of the Faculty of Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs from 2013-2021, and remains on the SIPA & Law faculty. She has written three books and numerous articles. Janow has had three periods of government service: from 2003-2008, she was elected as one of the seven Members of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Appellate Body. From 1997-2000, Janow served as the Executive Director of the first international antitrust advisory committee to the Attorney General, US Department of Justice. From 1989 to 1993, Janow served as Deputy Assistant USTR for Japan & China in the Executive Office of the President and responsible for leading trade negotiations with Japan and China. Janow has extensive corporate and nonprofit board and governance experience. She serves as non-executive Chairman of Mastercard and a Director on the American Funds/Capital group and Aptiv Corp. She was previously Chair of the Nasdaq Stock Market. Janow also serves on the Board of Japan Society (chair), among several other nonprofits. She was recognized in 2024 as Outstanding Director of the Year. Early in her career, Janow was a corporate M&A lawyer with Skadden, Arps in NY. She speaks Japanese and has a JD from Columbia Law School & a BA in Asian Studies from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Sangbae Kim
Department of Mechanical Engineering
MIT
Robotics Architect
Meta
Dr. Sangbae Kim has been the director of the Biomimetic Robotics Laboratory and a professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT for the last 16 years. Kim’s achievements include creating the world’s first directional adhesive inspired by gecko lizards and a climbing robot named Stickybot that utilizes the directional adhesive to climb smooth surfaces. One of Kim’s recent achievements is the development of the MIT Cheetah, a robot capable of stable running outdoors up to 13 mph and autonomous jumping over obstacles at the efficiency of animals. The design paradigm of the electric motor of the MIT cheetah is widely adopted by industries including Unitree and Boston Dynamics. Kim is a recipient of best paper awards from the ICRA (2007), King-Sun Fu Memorial TRO (2008) and IEEE/ASME TMECH (2016). Additionally, he received a DARPA YFA (2013), an NSF CAREER award (2014), a Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching (2015) and Nagamori Award (2023). He is a member of DSSG (Defense Science Study Group) 2019~2024. He gave talks at prestigious meetings such as TED xMIT, DAVOS economic Forum, Amazon MARS meetings, and Keynote speech at IROS2019. He is currently on leave from MIT and working for Meta to develop robotics technologies for home.
Dr. Sang-Gook Kim
Department of Mechanical Engineering
MIT
Dr. Sang-Gook Kim is a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He earned his B.S. from Seoul National University (1978), M.S. from KAIST (1980), and Ph.D. from MIT (1985). Dr. Kim previously worked at Axiomatics Co. in Cambridge, MA (1986), and at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (1986–1991). He also served as a corporate executive director at Daewoo Corporation in Korea, where he led the Central Research Institute of Daewoo Electronics Co. before joining MIT in 2000.
His research interests include piezoelectric MEMS energy harvesting, nano-engineered energy conversion devices, solar absorbers, and, most recently, artificial intelligence for design and manufacturing. Dr. Kim served as the Micro/Nano Area Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department from 2013 to 2022.
Dr. Kim is a Fellow of CIRP (International Academy for Production Engineering), a Fellow of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and an overseas member of the Korean National Academy of Engineering. In 2021, he was honored with the SNU School of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award.
Dr. Jay Lee
Clark Distinguished Chair and Director, Industrial AI Center, University of Maryland
Dr. Jay Lee is Clark Distinguished Professor and Founding Director of Industrial AI Center in the Mechanical Engineering of the Univ. of Maryland College Park. His current research is focused on developing non-traditional machine learning technologies.
Previously, he was the founding director of National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) on Intelligent Maintenance Systems (www.imscenter.net) in partnership with over 130 global company members and the Center was selected as the most economically impactful I/UCRC in the NSF Economic Impact Study Report in 2012. He mentored his students to develop a number of start-up companies including Predictronics through NSF iCorps in 2013.
He is a member of Global Future Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Production of the World Economics Council (WEF), a member of Board of Governors of the Manufacturing Executive Leadership Council of National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Board of Trustees of MTConnect, as well as a senior advisor to McKinsey.
He served as Vice Chairman and Board Member for Foxconn Technology Group (during 2019-2021 and had advised Foxconn business units to successfully receive six WEF Lighthouse Factory Awards. He also served as Director for Product Development and Manufacturing at United Technologies Research Center (now Raytheon Technologies Research Center) as well as Program Director for a number of programs at NSF.
He is a fellow of ASME, SME, PHM Society, and a founding fellow of ISEAM. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of IOP Journal Machine Learning: Engineering. He was selected as 30 Visionaries in Smart Manufacturing in by SME in Jan. 2016 and 20 most influential professors in Smart Manufacturing in June 2020, and received SME Eli Whitney Productivity Award and SME/NAMRC S.M. Wu Research Implementation Award in 2022. His book on Industrial AI was published by Springer in 2020.
Ms. Patricia (Patti) Leigh
President
Chevron Supply and Trading
Patti Leigh serves as President, Supply & Trading at Chevron, based in Houston, Texas. Patti leads the Company’s global trading operations across a broad portfolio that includes crude oil, feedstocks, refined products, natural gas, liquified natural gas (LNG), gas liquids and carbon. Her leadership supports Chevron’s upstream production, refining, and marketing activities worldwide. With more than 30 years of experience, Patti has held a variety of senior leadership roles. Prior to her current position, she was Vice President of Crude Products Supply & Trading, where she oversaw the global supply of crude oil for Chevron’s refineries and managed the marketing of crude from upstream assets. She has also served as Vice President of Products Supply & Trading and Vice President of Strategy & Commercial Services. Her career spans key areas of the business, including management positions in Downstream, Shipping, and Corporate Strategy. Patti began her career with the company in 1990 as a petroleum engineer in Midland, Texas. She holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from Stanford University.
Hon. Mark Menezes
President & CEO, United States Energy Association
The Honorable Mark W. Menezes is President and Chief Executive Officer of the United States Energy Association. In his role, Mr. Menezes represents the broad interests of the U.S. energy industry and interacts with domestic and international leaders to advance knowledge and seek partnerships to develop and enhance energy infrastructure worldwide.
Mark W. Menezes is the founder of Global Sustainable Energy Advisors LLC, a strategic advisory firm to energy, technology and defense organizations. Mr. Menezes is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law School teaching courses on energy law, policy, and climate change.
He is a former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy and has served as Chief Operating Officer over an agency with 120,000 employees and contractors, a $34 billion budget, and management responsibilities of the 17 national labs, the nation’s nuclear weapons programs, and its environmental cleanup obligations from the Manhattan Project. Prior to being confirmed as Deputy Secretary, Mr. Menezes served as Under Secretary of Energy, responsible for directing transformative energy progress and technology development through coordinated policy and budget planning, management, and innovation.
Prior to his federal executive branch service, Mr. Menezes was an executive at Berkshire Hathaway Energy after practicing law as a partner at Hunton & Williams LLP for ten years, heading its Energy and Infrastructure practice group. In his federal legislative branch service, Mr. Menezes was Chief Counsel, Energy and Environment, to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce during which he oversaw the passage of the historic Energy Policy Act of 2005. Before his service with the House Energy & Commerce Committee, he was Vice President with Central and South West Corporation and upon its merger with American Electric Power, served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for federal and state legislative and regulatory affairs.
Mr. Menezes is a graduate of Louisiana State University receiving both his undergraduate and juris doctor degrees. He is licensed to practice in D.C., Texas and Louisiana, and is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.
