CHOE Wongi (崔源起) is a Professor in the Department of International Economy and Trade Studies, and Head of Center for ASEAN–India Studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA). He holds a B.A. and M.A. in International Relations from Seoul National University in Korea and obtained a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Washington in Seattle. His research interests include international political economy, regional cooperation and architecture in East Asia, and climate change negotiation.

Since 2006 he has been involved in policy-related research at KNDA on such topics as Korea’s FTA policy, regional integration and regional architecture building in the context of ASEAN-led regional cooperation, G20 and global governance, and Korea’s approach toward UN climate change negotiation, etc.

Currently, as head of Center for ASEAN-India Studies at KNDA, he leads policy research on Korea’s New Southern Policy, which is Moon Jae-in government’s new foreign policy initiative toward the ASEAN and South Asian countries.

His recent policy publications in Korean include “Korea’s New Southern Policy: Strategic Environment and Policy Directions,” IFANS FOCUS, June 29, 2018; “Recent Developments of US Indo-Pacific Strategy and Policy Implications for Korea,” IFANS FOCUS, September 4, 2018; “Political Economy of International Climate Negotiations” in 27 Experts’ Solution for Climate Change (GeoBook, 2016), "Institutionalization of Regional Cooperation in East Asia" in An Integration Strategy for East Asia (KDI, 2015), etc.