During the 3rd Summit for Democracy, themed "Democracy for Future Generations" and hosted by the government of the Republic of Korea from March 18 (Monday) to March 20 (Wednesday), EAI co-hosted a civil society workshop in partnership with four leading international organizations—IIDE, OGP, OECD, and CoD. EAI played an instrumental role in advancing the Summit`s objectives, notably by organizing the Global Youth Town Hall with the American Diplomacy House Academy and co-hosting numerous roundtables and workshops. These sessions addressed a broad spectrum of critical topics, including anti-corruption and the interplay between technology, social media, and democracy. Looking ahead, EAI is committed to continuing its research and engagement efforts to support democracy and establish good governance across the Indo-Pacific Region.

The East Asia Institute (EAI) has published a working paper series focusing on the current status of horizontal accountability across seven Asian countries, alongside suggestions for enhancement. The authors underscore the significance of establishing checks and balances among state institutions to uphold governmental accountability and deter its aggrandizement and corruption. They suggest clarifying the authority of these institutions and bolstering their independence in terms of appointments and finance, with the aim of fostering qualitative improvements in democracy. This paper is released as part of the Asia Democracy Research Network (ADRN)’s ongoing research project launched in October 2022.

Young-Sun Ha (Chairman, EAI) and Yang-Gyu Kim (Executive Director, EAI) analyze North Korea’s recent proclamation of a “fundamental turnabout” in its policy towards South Korea, asserting that the regime is threatening to annilate its neighbor as the best alternative strategy to address their inability to establish Mutual Assured Destruction against the U.S. The authors suggest a four-fold strategy for South Korea: (1) bolstering South Korean model of integrated deterrence, (2) guaranteeing regime survival if DPRK abandons its nuclear arsenal, (3) fostering economic growth in a nuclear-free North Korea, and (4) collectively aiding Pyongyang’s informatization and intellectualization to align with the modern day global standards.