Join us for a scene setter that explores the stakes and the storylines for The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) 2025 summit, held in Gyeongju, South Korea from October 31 to November 1, 2025. This discussion, held one week prior to the summit, unpacks the most significant agenda items including trade, investment, and geopolitics, with special emphasis on the US, Korea, and the US-Korea relationship.
The discussion features senior experts with firsthand experience, including: Ambassador (Ret.) Philip Goldberg, former US Ambassador to the Republic of Korea 2022-2025, and Kate Kalutkiewicz, Senior Managing Director of the Trade Practice at McLarty Associates and former Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Trade at the National Economic Council. The moderator is Tom Byrne, President and CEO of The Korea Society, adjunct professor at Columbia University’s SIPA, and former Senior Vice President for Moody’s Investor Services.
The priorities for this year’s forum are: “Connect, Innovate, Prosper.” In a preparatory meeting, senior officials from APEC members discussed “strategies for digital economy integration, public health cooperation, and strengthening APEC’s role as an incubator of practical, consensus-driven solutions.” As host nation, Korea’s initiatives include: “addressing demographic change and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology.”
APEC originated as a ministerial meeting of 12 Asian Pacific countries in 1989. The idea for the forum was proposed by Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke during a trip to Seoul in January 1989. A leaders’ summit was introduced in 1993 and a series of expansions increased the number of members to 21. South Korea previously hosted the ministerial meeting in Seoul 1991 and the leaders’ meeting in Busan 2005. APEC’s mission is to “support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.”
This program is made possible by the generous support of our individual and corporate Members, Columbia University's Weatherhead East Asian Institute, and the Korea Foundation.
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What to Expect: The 2025 APEC Summit in South Korea
Thursday, October 23, 2025 | 12 PM (EDT)
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
About the Speakers:
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Philip S Goldberg served as US Ambassador to the Republic of Korea 2022-2025. He served as US Ambassador to Colombia. In 2018, Goldberg served as Charge d’affaires at the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba, followed by a year as a Diplomat in Residence at Georgetown University. From 2013-2016, Amb Goldberg served as US Ambassador to the Philippines. Prior to that assignment, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (2010-2013); US Ambassador to Bolivia (2006-2008); Chief of Mission in Pristina, Kosovo (2004-2006); and Charge d’affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Santiago, Chile (2001-2004). From 2009-2010, Goldberg was coordinator for the implementation of UN sanctions on North Korea. His other overseas tours included Bogota, Colombia, where he served as the Plan Colombia coordinator, and Pretoria, South Africa. |
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Kate Kalutkiewicz is Senior Managing Director and leads the McLarty trade practice and contributes to the firm’s Europe practice and McLarty Inbound. Kate has managed complex challenges around global trade, industrial, and investment policy for nearly two decades. Her experience spans roles in government, particularly in Europe and South America, where she honed her skills in negotiating complex international agreements and navigating the nuance around public-private sector interactions. Kate most recently served as Head of US Trade Policy for Amazon, where she advocated a broad range of international trade and economic issues with the US Government, touching several sectors, including retail, creative content production and distribution, cloud services, sustainable fleet, autos, and hardline manufacturing. Prior to that, Kate served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Trade at the National Economic Council, where she developed and led US trade policy initiatives. During her White House tenure, she led interagency teams responsible for the US G7 Presidency and US positions on supply chain resiliency and support for the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before serving in the White House, Kate was the Senior Trade Representative at the US Mission to the European Union from 2016-2020. While in Brussels, she was the USTR’s primary interlocutor with the European Commission and Member State authorities responsible for trade. Before her time in Brussels, Kate held the role of USTR’s Director for European Affairs (2011-2016) and served as Associate Chief Negotiator for the US in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. She began her career at USTR as its Director for Brazil and the Southern Cone (2007-2011), where she was the principal agency representative for implementing and managing US trade policy in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Prior to USTR, Kate was a legislative assistant in the office of Senator James Talent (R-MO), where she supported the Senator on issues related to trade, foreign policy, homeland security, immigration, and the judiciary. |