In 2025, the United States and South Korea negotiated a new framework for economic relations. Under the new understanding, South Korea has committed to investing $150 billion in the US shipbuilding industry and an additional $200 billion in other US industries, potentially including the new Korea Zinc smelter in Clarksville. Please join the Tennessee World Affairs Council for a discussion on the current state of US-Korea economic relations and what the new economic understanding could mean for future investment.
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 I 11:00am-1:00pm
* Luncheon Event *
Venue:
21 Platform Way South – 23rd Floor
Nashville, TN 37203
Register Now
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Moderator: Karl Dean
Karl Dean served as the sixth Mayor of Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected in 2007 and re-elected in 2011. Dean first held public office when he was elected as Nashville’s Public Defender in 1990. He was re-elected in 1994 and 1998. He served as Metro Law Director from 1999 to January 2007, when he resigned to run for the office of mayor. Karl Dean has taught at Vanderbilt Law School, Belmont University, and Boston University.
Panelist: Troy Stangarone
Troy Stangarone is a non-resident fellow with the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Strategy and Technology. Previously he was the Director of the Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy and the Deputy Director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the Wilson Center. Mr. Stangarone specializes in economic and foreign policy relations on the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.
Mr. Stangarone is also currently a columnist for The Korea Times and The Hankook Ilbo, as well as a contributing author for The Diplomat. He is co-chair of the Steering Committee for the North Korea Economic Forum at the George Washington Institute for Korean Studies and a member of the Korea-America Student Conference’s National Advisory Committee.
Prior to joining the Wilson Center, Mr. Stangarone was Senior Director and Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI) where he oversaw the Institute’s programmatic initiatives and focused on issues pertaining to economic and foreign policy on the Korean Peninsula. During his time at KEI, he was a 2012-2013 Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in South Korea, sponsored by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, and a Posco Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center. Mr. Stangarone also previously worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Robert Torricelli on issues relating to foreign affairs and trade.
Mr. Stangarone holds an MSc. in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a B.A. in Political Science and Economics from the University of Memphis.
Panelist: Soojin Kim
Soojin focuses her practice on corporate matters, including domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, formation and governance of business entities, and negotiation and drafting of commercial contracts.
As head of the firm’s Korea Desk, Soojin works closely with Korean companies investing in the U.S., assisting throughout the investment lifecycle. Originally from Korea and bilingual in English and Korean, she understands the legal and practical challenges Korean companies encounter in the U.S. market.
Before entering private practice, Soojin worked at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., supporting investigations into allegations of fraud and corruption involving World Bank-financed development projects.
Panelist: Jason Hale
