Victor Cha Joins CSIS as Korea Chair

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) today announced the establishment of a Korea Chair, and appointed Victor Cha, a former director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council, as the inaugural chair holder and senior advisor.   A senior Advisory Council to the Korea Chair will be led by CSIS Trustee and leading Korean-American businessman and philanthropist Chong-Moon Lee.

The new CSIS Korea Chair will serve as an independent platform in Washington from which to discuss major policy issues of common importance to the people of the Republic of Korea and the United States.  The chair will examine the R.O.K-U.S. relationship, conduct timely and independent research, and highlight critical issues for the policy community and the broader public at large.

“Korea is a pivotal ally,” said Sam Nunn, the chairman of the CSIS Board of Trustees.  “Our alliance must focus on the future, and the establishment of a Korea Chair at CSIS underscores the importance of the relationship at this critical time.  Victor Cha is well qualified by both his considerable experience and background to bring his good judgment to the challenges and opportunities between our two countries.”

Cha has proven expertise on the Korean peninsula, senior-level experience in the U.S. government, and strong ties to the policy, business, and non-governmental communities in both Washington and Seoul.

At the NSC, Cha was responsible for a broad Asia portfolio that included the two Koreas. He served as the U.S. deputy head of delegation for the Six Party Talks. After leaving government in 2007, Cha became the director of Asian Studies and the D. S. Song-Korea Foundation Chair in Asian Studies and Government at Georgetown University.  Cha will take up the CSIS Korea Chair alongside his position at Georgetown.

Cha will join CSIS formally on June 1, 2009. As chair holder, he will build a broader Korea program next to CSIS’s longstanding Japan Chair and Freeman Chair in China Studies to further strengthen CSIS’s considerable expertise in East Asia. 

“The security, economic, and cultural ties between the Republic of Korea and the United States are strong,” said Chong-Moon Lee, CSIS Trustee and Chairman of the CSIS Korea Chair Advisory Board. “The Korea Chair at CSIS will make a lasting contribution to the R.O.K.-U.S. relationship.”

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is a bipartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1962 and headquartered in Washington, D.C.  It seeks to advance global security and prosperity by providing strategic insights and policy solutions to decision makers.